coordinating mind and movement
TRANSCRIPT
COORDINATING MIND AND MOVEMENT
EXPLORING PARALLELS BETWEEN THE F.M. ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE AND ‘THE NEW APPROACH TO VIOLIN PLAYING’
by
Maria Christina Louw
Thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music (Performing Arts)
at the University of Stellenbosch
Supervisors: Dr Maria Smit Ms Magdalena Roux
Submitted December 2004
I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is
my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in
part submitted it at any university for a degree.
MC Louw
6 December 2004
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore parallels between ‘The New Approach to
violin playing’, which was developed by the Hungarian violinist Kató Havas, and the
Alexander Technique, a method known for promoting kinaesthetic awareness and
mind-body coordination. The specific objectives of the study are to identify the
parallels between the two methods, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the New
Approach, by using the Alexander Technique as a construct through which to
examine the method. The study aims to illuminate some of the reasons for the
reported efficacy of the New Approach, and to point the way towards achieving unity
of mind and body in an expressive violin technique.
Although the Alexander Technique is widely used and applied by musicians in order
to improve their performance, problems are sometimes encountered in applying the
Technique to the finer aspects of instrumental technique. A method of violin tuition
that incorporates principles and procedures similar to those found in the Alexander
Technique could bridge this gap and prove to be a very powerful tool in coordinating
mind and movement in violin playing. It is the purpose of this study to show that ‘The
New Approach to violin playing’ is such a method, and as such deserves to be more
widely known.
The research was conducted within a qualitative paradigm, using a multi-
methodological approach. An extensive comparative literature study of the two
methods was combined with practical experience gained through regular Alexander
lessons, and participation in New Approach lessons with Kató Havas and her personal
representative, Gloria Bakhshayesh.
The New Approach, like the Alexander Technique, is essentially a search for
awareness, especially in the relationship between the player and the instrument. The
particular value of the New Approach lies in the fact that Havas combines her expert
knowledge of violin technique with an intuitive understanding of the conditions
necessary for the optimal psychophysical functioning of the violinist. Through
organising these principles into a systematised method, Havas makes the acquisition
of an expressive technique more accessible to all.
Opsomming Die doel van hierdie studie is om ooreenkomste te ondersoek tussen ‘The New
Approach to violin playing’ van die Hongaarse violiste, Kató Havas, en die
Alexander-tegniek, ’n metode bekend daarvoor om kinestetiese bewustheid en
geestelik-liggaamlike koordinasie te verhoog. Die spesifieke doel van die studie is om
ooreenkomste tussen bogenoemde werkwyses te identifiseer, en om ’n beter begrip
van die ‘New Approach’ te vekry, deur die Alexander-tegniek as ’n raamwerk te
gebruik waardeur die metode bestudeer word. Die studie poog om sekere motiverings
vir die effektiwiteit van die ‘New Approach’ uit te lig, en om die weg te wys na die
verwesenliking van geestelik-fisieke eenheid in ’n ekspressiewe viooltegniek.
Alhoewel die Alexander-tegniek dikwels deur uitvoerende musici gebruik word om
hul spelvermoë te verbeter, word probleme soms ondervind in die toepassing van die
tegniek op die fyner aspekte van instrumentale spel. ’n Metode van vioolonderrig wat
beginsels en prosesse soortgelyk aan díé van die Alexander-tegniek insluit, sou
hierdie probleem kon oorkom en as kragtige middel kon dien vir die koördinasie van
denke en ligaamlike beweging in vioolspel. Hierdie studie poog om te illustreer dat
die ‘New Approach’ hierdie kwaliteite het, en as sulks meer blootstelling aan
vioolonderwysers verdien.
In hierdie ondersoek is gebruik gemaak van ’n multi-metodologiese benadering binne
’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsparadigma. ’n Vergelykende literatuurstudie van die
Alexander-tegniek en ‘The New Approach to violin playing’ is gekombineer met
praktiese ervaring wat vekry is deur middel van gereelde Alexander lesse, asook
deelname aan ‘New Approach’ lesse met Kató Havas en haar persoonlike
verteenwoordiger, Gloria Bakhshayesh.
Die ‘New Approach’ – net soos die Alexander-tegniek – is in wese ’n soeke na
bewustheid, veral in die interaksie tussen die violis en die instrument. Die besondere
waarde van die ‘New Approach’ is dat Havas haar gesaghebbende kennis van
viooltegniek gekombineer het met ’n intuïtiewe begrip vir die optimale psigofisiese
funksionering van die violis. Deur hierdie beginsels in ’n sistematiese metode te
orden, skep Havas die moontlikheid om ’n ekspressiewe viooltegniek aan almal
beskikbaar te stel.
Acknowledgements
Dr Maria Smit – Thank you for your efficient guidance and supervision, despite a very busy schedule. While your words were few, they were well chosen and catalytic in structuring the study.
Dalena Roux -Your enthusiasm for and belief in this project was a great inspiration to me. Thank you for introducing the Alexander Technique to me, which not only led to the idea for this study, but also profoundly influenced my own playing and teaching.
Yvonne Becker - Thank you for teaching me a new way of being, with such gentleness and humour in the Alexander lessons, and for so patiently and meticulously reading through the endless pages of manuscript. I dedicate all the apostrophes in this report to you! Kató Havas - I don’t think anyone can ever thank you enough for designing ‘The New Approach to violin playing’ and thereby opening up the way to musical self-expression for so many people. Thank you for so generously giving of your time and energy, and for the interest you took in my work. I am deeply indebted to you for taking on the burden of reading through this manuscript.
Gloria Bakhshayesh – Thank you for sharing your wisdom in the New Approach lessons, and for your support in the arrangements for the trip to the UK. Thank you also for giving of your time to read through this paper.
The Beau Soleil Music Centre - Thank you for giving me the time that I needed to undertake this study, and for the financial support for the New Approach lessons. The City Vineyard Church - A special word of thanks to my anonymous benefactor(s), who made it possible for me to have more lessons with Kató Havas. Lorna Baker - Your listening ear and wise counsel played a significant part in helping me to complete this study – thank you. My parents and family – Thank you for always being there for me.
A sincere word of thanks to the Harry Crossley Foundation for the very generous scholarship grant, which made a significant contribution towards the costs incurred in
undertaking this study.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3: 22, 23 -
CONTENTS
PART I: RESEARCH PROBLEM AND DESIGN
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Problem and objectives 1
1.2 Background 2
1.3 Literature review 3
1.4 Chapter outline 17
2. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
2.1 Research design 18
2.2 Methodology 19
2.2.1 Measurement 21
2.2.2 Comparative literature study 22
2.2.3 Participatory action research (PAR) 25
2.3 Validity 30
PART II: A COMPARATIVE LITERATURE STUDY
3. THE FM ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Background 34
3.2.1 Biographical details 34
3.2.2 The evolution of the Technique 37
3.3 The method 40
3.3.1 Summary 40
3.3.2 Use 42
3.3.3 Primary control 45
3.3.4 Sensory awareness 49
3.3.5 Guided movement 53
3.3.6 Direction 55
i
3.3.7 Inhibition 59
3.3.8 The kinaesthetic effect 64
3.3.9 Postural balance 66
3.3.10 Attention and awareness 69
3.3.11 Control and freedom 71
3.4 Other considerations 73
3.4.1 Teaching 73
3.4.2 Words 75
3.5 Conclusion 77
3.5.1 Framework of key concepts 78
3.5.2 Individual frames 80
4. THE NEW APPROACH TO VIOLIN PLAYING
4.1 Introduction 93
4.2 Background 93
4.2.1 Early influences 93
4.2.2 The Hungarian gypsy violinist 95
4.2.3 Controversy and debate 96
4.2.4 Books 99
4.3 The New Approach 101
4.3.1 A new perspective 101
4.3.2 Stage fright: causes and cures 102
4.4 The method 105
4.4.1 Easy or impossible 106
4.4.2 Inside-outward playing 106
4.4.3 Mind over movement 109
4.4.4 The fundamental balances 112
4.4.5 Touch 117
4.4.6 The inner ear 120
4.4.7 Automation of technique 122
ii
4.5 The scientific base of the New Approach 124
4.5.1 Gestalt 124
4.5.2 Hellebrandt articles 127
4.5.3 Flow 131
4.6 Summary and conclusion 137
5. A COMPARATIVE STUDY
5.1 Introduction 139
5.2 Framework of Key Concepts 139
5.2.1 The background 140
5.2.1.1 Use 140
5.2.1.2 Primary control 148
5.2.1.3 Sensory awareness 155
5.2.2 The intervention 159
5.2.2.1 Guided movement 159
5.2.2.2 Inhibition 165
5.2.2.3 Direction 172
5.2.3 Improved use 183
5.2.3.1 The kinaesthetic effect 183
5.2.3.2 Postural balance 188
5.2.3.3 Attention and awareness 192
5.2.3.4 Control and freedom 196
5.3 Other considerations 201
5.3.1 Teaching 201
5.3.2 Words 205
5.4 Conclusion 209
5.4.1 Summary 209
5.4.2 Influence 211
iii
PART III: PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH
6. PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH
6.1 Introduction 215
6.2 The lessons 216
6.2.1 The rhythmic pulse and the stance 216
6.2.2 Winging 221
6.2.3 Integrating the body and the instrument 225
6.2.3.1 Flying fiddles 226
6.2.3.2 The no violin-hold 229
6.2.4 Bowing 234
6.2.5 Touch 238
6.2.6 Directing 243
6.2.7 The inner ear 248
6.3 Conclusion 253
6.3.1 Framework of key concepts 254
6.3.2 Participatory action research 256
6.4 Triangulation: the KHANA newsletters 257
6.4.1 Hilary Foxwell 258
6.4.2 Wade Alexander 260
6.4.3 Postlude 261
7. CONCLUSION
7.1 Summary: The New Approach 263
7.2 Concluding comparisons 264
7.3 Final perspectives 270
7.4 Methodological issues 272
7.5 Further recommendations 273
7.6 Aims accomplished 274
References 276
iv
APPENDICES:
A. Feedback 284
A.1. The Alexander Technique: Becker 284
A.2. The New Approach: Havas 285
A.3. The New Approach: Bakhshayesh 286
B. Codes 287
C. Havas: Words 288
D. Interview Transcript 289
E. Correspondence 294
E.1 Havas 294
E.2 Perkins 296
E.3 Davy 299
F. The KHANA newsletters 301
F.1 Whitfield: hemispheric dominance 301
F.2 Individual observations 301
F.3 References 304
v
TABLES AND DIAGRAMS:
Diagram 1 Input – throughput – output 62
Diagram 2 The Alexander Technique: Framework of key concepts 81
Table 3.1. Use 82
Table 3.2. Primary control 83
Table 3.3. Sensory awareness 84
Table 3.4. Guided movement 85
Table 3.5. Inhibition 86
Table 3.6. Direction 87
Table 3.7. The kinaesthetic effect 88
Table 3.8. Postural balance 88
Table 3.9. Attention and awareness 89
Table 3.10. Control and freedom 90
Table 3.11. Teaching 91
Table 3.12. Words 92
Table 5.1. Comparisons 139
Table 5.2. Comparisons: Use 147
Table 5.3. Comparisons: Primary control 154
Table 5.4. Comparisons: Sensory awareness 158
Table 5.5. Comparisons: Guided movement 164
Table 5.6. Comparisons: Inhibition 171
Table 5.7. Comparisons: Direction 182
Table 5.8. Comparisons: The kinaesthetic effect 187
Table 5.9. Comparisons: Postural balance 191
Table 5.10. Comparisons: Attention and awareness 195
Table 5.11. Comparisons: Control and freedom 200
Table 5.12. Comparisons: Teaching 204
Table 5.13. Comparisons: Words 208
vi
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Research problem and objectives
While doing a literature review for a comparative study of violin methods in 2002, I
became aware of a significant resonance between aspects of ‘The New Approach to
violin playing’, developed by Katό Havas, and the FM Alexander Technique. The
primary aim of this research is to test this insight and to identify and describe the
nature of the similarities between the two methods, as no study has yet been done to
identify and catalogue such parallels between the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach.
A further objective of this enquiry is to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of
‘The New Approach to violin playing’, using the Alexander Technique as a construct
through which to examine the method. This study of the New Approach, in
conjunction with the Alexander Technique, could also be useful for identifying the
skills and strategies needed to promote sensory awareness and kinaesthetic learning in
pupils.
In her comparison of the violin methods designed by Havas, Rolland and Suzuki,
Perkins (1995: 23) briefly refers to Alexander’s writings as having influenced Havas’s
work, yet she does not substantiate this claim in any way. A preliminary reading of
the literature indicates that Havas herself does not refer to Alexander as an influence.
The principles formulated by FM Alexander existed before he discovered them, and
as Jones (1976: 154) suggests, they “can undoubtedly be discovered again, not
necessarily by the same route”. It is very likely that Havas independently uncovered
processes that are similar to those found in the Alexander Technique while developing
her violin method. A secondary objective in this study is therefore to ascertain the
degree of influence, if any, that Alexander may have had on the formulation of the
New Approach.
My hypothesis is that ‘The New Approach to violin playing’, developed by Kató
Havas, is a very valuable and effective violin method, as it parallels many aspects of
2
the Alexander Technique, a scientifically proven method for promoting kinaesthetic
learning and re-education, and coordinating the mind and the body (cf Jones, 1976).
1.2 Background
Many years of teaching the violin and the viola have convinced me that knowing
intellectually what should be done, does not necessarily result in the physical ability
to do so, often to the great frustration of both the teacher and the pupil. This inability
to carry out physically what is understood intellectually seems to be especially
pertinent in cases where bad technical habits have become ingrained in the early
stages of learning. The re-education of physical movement is a very demanding but
essential task, as establishing good habits in the basic techniques involved in playing
the instrument (such as one’s posture and the ways of holding and handling the
instrument and bow), is fundamental to all subsequent technical development. In the
process of helping students change deeply ingrained and harmful habits, I have
continually searched for more effective methods of teaching. In the process, I noticed
that certain procedures seemed to be particularly beneficial, such as making pupils
more aware of their own sensory feedback, and moving their arms or hands to give
them the desired sensation for a particular movement. The pupil’s descriptions of
these experiences were then used with positive effect for further instruction in lessons.
In the years directly preceding this study, my search for more efficient methods led to
lessons with Ludmila Ignatieva, a Russian violinist who was based in Cape Town for
a number of years. These lessons exposed me to a method of teaching that emphasised
kinaesthetic awareness, leading to an increased ability to direct one’s playing
movements consciously. The resulting ease of playing was surprising and I became
more and more convinced that one’s body is the instrument, not just the violin/viola
and the bow. Attention needs to be paid not only to learning techniques for
manipulating the instrument, but also to the way in which one uses oneself in the
process.
An introduction to the Alexander Technique in 2001 confirmed this belief. Stevens
(1996: 96) notes that because “we ourselves are the instrument we must use, whatever
we are doing, we need to know how to use ourselves well”, and Jones (1976: 182)
postulates that far fewer technical breakdowns would occur if musicians “understood
3
the use of themselves as well as they understand the use of their instruments”. During
a comparative study of violin methods in 2002, I discovered that this idea is also
fundamental to Kató Havas’s ‘The New Approach to violin playing’. Havas believes
that successful study of the violin depends more on learning how to use the right
physical movements than on talent (Havas, 1968: 9), as an “ugly sound simply means
that the violin is maltreated and that erroneous limb and muscle actions are used”
(Havas, 1979: 1).
Considering the importance of body use on the response of the instrument and in the
ease of one’s playing, I found it disconcerting to notice how many students, even
performance majors at a tertiary level, attempt to play a very difficult repertoire
without paying sufficient attention to the way they use themselves in the process,
ultimately resulting in frustration and self-limiting beliefs about their own abilities.
Similarly, the standard of violin teaching at an elementary level sometimes leaves a
lot to be desired, with a low standard of performance accepted as the norm among
beginners.
These observations led me to surmise that a comparative study of the New Approach
and the Alexander Technique could be useful to explore the ways in which the
principles of the Alexander Technique can be incorporated into string playing and
teaching, in order to bring about an improved use of the body in instrumental
performance. The aim of such an investigation is not merely to impart intellectual
knowledge about good technique, but to generate knowledge of ways in which a
student can actually be helped to implement and apply it.
A review of the literature supports the need for such an enquiry.
1.3 Literature review
The ideal in instrumental performance is to achieve an expressive technique, which is
able to “do justice, with unfailing reliability and control, to each and every demand of
the most refined musical imagination” (Galamian, 1985: 5). The greatest desire of any
performing musician is to have this freedom of musical self-expression, where
musical thought is directly translated into sound through free and balanced physical
movements. Such artistry requires a high degree of integration between the mind, the
4
body and the instrument, which is often described in terms of the player’s body
merging with the instrument, or of the instrument becoming an extension of one’s
body (Green & Gallwey, 1986: 147; Kreitman, 1998: 26).
In his theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner (1985: 8) argues that there is
persuasive evidence for the existence of several relatively autonomous human
intelligences, or “frames of mind”, as opposed to “a singular, inviolable capacity”
(1985: 7), or a general factor of intelligence, that is drawn on to perform all skills.
According to Gardner (1985: xii), “nearly any adult end state of any consequence in
any culture will involve a blend of intelligences”. A competent musical performer will
exhibit not only musical intelligence but also, among various other intelligences,
bodily kinaesthetic skills in order to handle his or her instrument with the required
subtlety. In the light of the above, one could say that instrumental performance is
musical intelligence expressed through physical intelligence.
As an example of masterful use of the body, Gardner (1985: 207) cites the Greeks of
the Classical Era, who, in their artistic and athletic activities, “sought a harmony
between mind and body, with the mind trained to use the body properly, and the body
trained to respond to the expressive powers of the mind”. Similarly, the aim of an
expressive technique is to bring about a physical responsiveness, so completely
synthesized with the musical imagination, that as the music is conceptualised
inwardly, it is directly and immediately expressed into sound through the player’s
physical interaction with the instrument.
The reality, however, is that such an integration of mind and body in instrumental
performance remains an ideal that is generally only experienced on rare occasions, if
at all (Green & Gallwey, 1986: 12; Havas, 1961: 1). Even accomplished artists are not
immune to a breakdown in this unity of mind, body and instrument. Perhaps the most
famous example is that of the violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, who described a painful
“break in sequence” between his musical vision and its communication through the
instrument (Menuhin, as cited in Sand, 2000: 155)1.
1 Menuhin made use of yoga in his attempt to re-establish the intuitive unity of mind and body that he had experienced as a child prodigy (Sand, 2000: 155). It is significant that he was one of the first major artists to recognise the value of the New Approach (see 4.2.4).
5
Both amateur and professional musicians very often experience such a breakdown
between their artistic sensibility and their actual performance, and books such as The
inner game of music (Green & Gallwey, 1986) are specifically designed to address
this dilemma. Gallwey (1986: 7) notes that the primary discovery of his “Inner game”
theory is that “human beings significantly get in their own way”, especially in an
achievement-oriented culture, and that much of this self-interference in performance
originates in the way that one has been taught. Green and Gallwey (1986) suggest
useful techniques for eliminating such interference, and Green (as cited in Green &
Gallwey, 1986: 244), credits Kató Havas for some of these insights.
Both mental and physical freedom from interference is essential in order to preserve
the integration of the mind, body and instrument in an expressive technique. The
endless hours of practising in search of the elusive state of free and instinctive music-
making can lead not only to discouragement, but also to physical pain and injury, as is
shown by the high incidence of tendonitis among string players (Horvath, 1992:
1051). Instead of being able to “re-create great music with ease and expressivity”, for
many musicians the reality is that “it can hurt to play” (Horvath, 1992: 1051). Stein
(1999: 72) notes that it is often a student’s posture and particular way of moving that
contribute to discomfort and pain in the repetitive strain injuries so often incurred in
string playing.
In her report on preventing performance injuries, Carol Anne Jones (2001: 24)
observes that instrumental musicians often forget that “the musical apparatus they
pluck, stroke…or bow is only half of the instrument”, and that the other half is their
bodies. The biggest challenge facing music teachers today is to impart healthy habits
to their students, thereby laying a secure foundation for their musical future (Jones,
2001: 30). The distinguished cello pedagogue, Victor Sazer (as cited in Jones, 2001:
24), argues for instrumental playing that is based on a fundamental understanding of
the body's natural impulses, so that one’s technique can be adapted to one’s body, and
not the other way around. Insights into the body’s natural impulses give musicians the
tools with which “to sort the healthy from the harmful” in the physical movements
involved in playing an instrument (Sazer, as cited in Jones, 2001: 24).
6
Sazer (as cited in Jones, 2001: 27) believes that it is essential to move away from the
traditionally accepted ways of teaching that rely primarily on imitation, to a teaching
paradigm that incorporates biomechanics and medical findings. The Alexander
teacher and cellist, Vivien Mackie (1994: 48’40) concurs that bad mistakes are often
made due to a lack of knowledge and a misunderstanding as to how the body works,
as physiological knowledge is generally not included in the training of music teachers.
Therefore, the “first thing teachers need to do is acquire the knowledge themselves
and, second, impart to their students that having such knowledge is important to
performing” (Sazer, as cited in Jones, 2001: 27).
Polnauer (as cited in McCullough, 1996) also found that the “needs of a highly
perfected violin technique require that bio-mechanical functions of the entire body be
included”. Instead of considering bowing purely as a “mechanical-physiological
problem of the bowing arm only”, or thinking in terms of separate right and left hand
techniques, it is scientifically more defensible to talk of an “entire body” technique
(Polnauer, as cited in McCullough, 1996). However, as not enough was known of
neuromuscular physiology when the various schools of violin playing came into
being, fixed ways of standing, holding and manipulating the instrument were
introduced, that are often in conflict with the ways in which movement is regulated
within the body as a whole (Hellebrandt, 1969: 277). These practises eventually
became encoded in the various schools’ dogmas, so that that “violin pedagogy, over
time, became a formalized, rule-governed ‘methodology’” (Perkins, 1995: 9), often to
be followed and defended unquestioningly by the adherents of the particular schools.
Kenneson (1974: 11) observes that, in seeking a solution to the physical immobility
that they may experience in their playing movements and in contact with the
instrument, musicians sometimes turn to technical exercises that are “intended to
break through immobility with sheer strength”. However, playing through countless
of studies and exercises in order to develop technique, while the underlying tensions
and inefficient movement patterns are not addressed, is not only counter-productive,
but the source of many playing related injuries. The fact that instrumental teachers
may be unable to detect or recognise such misuse, due to a lack of knowledge and
training with regard to a physiologically justifiable use of the body, further
7
compounds the problem. Paul Rolland (as cited in Havas, 1968: 65) rightly observes:
“There is much in playing that escapes the eye of the traditionally trained teacher”.
Although it may be difficult to establish good postural habits in young beginners, it is
essential, as children do not automatically grow out of their bad physical and technical
habits as they develop and mature, a fact that is borne out by research into the ways in
which neural pathways are created and established in the brain (cf Robertson, 1999:
62). Many destructive habits that are formed at a beginner level, lead to problems that
eventually hinder or even bring to an end the professional development of aspiring
young musicians (Rosenblith, as cited in McCullough, 1996). Workman, a performing
arts chiropractic specialist, stresses that the “very first lesson is the very most
important lesson”, and that most injuries and playing-related problems would be
resolved if the proper use of the body were addressed before all else (Workman, as
cited in Jones, 2001: 24).
However, McCullough (1996) observes that “learning to use oneself well, both in
everyday living and while playing an instrument, is not a simple matter of being told
(or telling oneself)” what to do. De Alcantara (1997: 43) confirms that one of the
greatest stumbling blocks of musical pedagogy is that “you cannot perform an act
correctly until you have had the experience of performing it, and you cannot have the
experience without performing the act”. The true nature of teaching therefore does not
lie in merely imparting intellectual knowledge, but in coaching and guiding the
student, who is as yet ‘blind’ to the required act, into an actual experience of such an
act.
Gardner (1985: 68) also notes that it is customary to distinguish between “know-how”
(actual experiential knowledge) and “know-that” (intellectual knowledge of the
procedures involved in the execution of an act) in the study of skills and abilities. The
problem in instrumental tuition is that intellectual knowledge and understanding about
good technique (know-that) has to be conveyed to a pupil in such a way that he or she
will be able to carry it through to successful completion (know-how). Verbal
instruction alone is not enough to bring this about, as “words and ideas by themselves
are not a sufficient form of education in anything which involves the senses” (Barlow,
1973: 190).
8
Although there are excellent violin method books that give detailed descriptions of
technical procedures and exercises, such as Galamian’s Principles of violin playing
and teaching (1985) and Simon Fischer’s Basics (1997), they also merely
communicate information about good technique (know-that) and do not address the
ways in which such intellectual knowledge can actually be imparted to students, in
order to become part of their experiential knowledge (know-how). Galamian (1985:
xi) admits that “no printed work can ever replace the live teacher-student
relationship”, and that no one can teach or learn to play the violin from a book only.
Traditionally, instrumental teaching has followed a master-apprentice model, in which
the student-apprentice learns almost exclusively through observing and imitating the
master teacher (Boyden, 1990). Although Gardner (1985: 228) speculates that
learning by imitation seems to be the most appropriate way to impart physical skill,
there are many problems inherent in this way of learning, particularly when the model
being imitated, does not exhibit good use, or has many idiosyncrasies and exaggerated
mannerisms (De Alcantara, 1997: 253). Students may not have the ability to discern
between a model’s defects and good qualities, so as to copy only the good. De
Alcantara (1997: 253) suggests that even a good model is usually imitated incorrectly
due to faulty sensory awareness. Instead of copying a good model as he or she is in
reality, too often one tends merely to imitate one’s own perception of the model (De
Alcantara, 1997: 252).
Havas (1968: 3) notes that it is “generally accepted that only those pupils of Joachim
flourished who were good at imitating”, and that this was apparently true of the Auer
school as well. In the light of De Alcantara’s perspective on imitative teaching, as
related above, it is probable that this is the case in all imitative teaching. The
problems encountered in learning through imitation, confirm Sazer’s argument (as
cited in Jones, 2001: 27) for the need to move away from a purely imitative paradigm
of teaching.
De Alcantara (1997: 253) notes that for imitation to be healthy, one needs to “imitate
not effects but causes, not the outward manifestations of co-ordination but the co-
ordinative processes themselves, not the functioning of the self but its use”. It would
be useful to explore ways in which such co-ordinative processes in string playing can
9
be identified to begin with, as well as how they can be conveyed from the teacher to
the student, as it is clear that the imitation of outward, visible movements are not
sufficient in order to accomplish this.
Gardner (1985) gives a fascinating insight into the ways that sensory information is
conveyed from the teacher to the pupil in cultures that are known for their physical
grace and exceptional kinaesthetic abilities. The cultural anthropologist, Ruth
Benedict (as cited in Gardner, 1985: 228), notes that Japanese children learn to write,
use chopsticks or shoot an arrow as the teacher physically places their bodies in the
correct position, and moves their hands to give them the feeling of the desired action.
Bateson and Mead (as cited in Gardner, 1985: 226) observe that children in Bali learn
almost nothing from verbal instruction, but physical skills, such as learning to walk,
eat, dance or play a musical instrument, are all handed down from generation to
generation, with the teacher guiding the pupil, “conveying directly by pressure, and
almost always with a minimum of words, the gesture to be performed”. The
kinaesthetic awareness that this brings about, eventually leads to a well-developed
sense of balance and grace of movement in the Balinese (Gardner, 1985: 234). In
describing this balanced gracefulness, Gardner (1985: 235) notes that the Balinese
tend to use only the muscles that are immediately relevant to a particular act, leaving
the rest of the body undisturbed.
Such kinaesthetic awareness and “subtle bodily feeling” is rarely taught consistently
in traditional instrumental tuition in the West, as teachers very often “become
preoccupied by more obvious aspects such as technical problems or those of posture
or musical expression” (Burzik, 2003: 718). However, it is essential to give conscious
attention to developing a heightened sense of kinaesthetic awareness, especially in
contact with the instrument, as it is the kinaesthetic sense that allows one to adjust and
control one’s movements, through highly articulated feedback mechanisms (Gardner,
1985: 211). Burzik (2003: 717) notes that it is only through becoming so sensitively
attuned to the instrument, that the body becomes “permeable”, in order to allow the
music to flow through the player “as a medium between composer and audience”
(Burzik, 2003: 717).
10
From the foregoing review of the literature, it is clear that essential prerequisites for
developing an expressive technique include the following:
1. Freedom from mental and physical interference, which facilitates the unity
of mind and body
2. A balanced use of the body as a whole, which is based on sound
biomechanical principles
3. Heightened kinaesthetic awareness, especially in the contact between the
player and the instrument
However, the problem remains as to how these prerequisites are to be established in a
pupil’s actual use, in order to move from intellectual to experiential knowledge, and
an inquiry into the specific ways in which this might be accomplished in string
teaching is necessary. A review of recent scholarship in this area further confirms this
conclusion.
Although Chen (1997) examines the problem of mechanical (as opposed to
expressive) violin playing, she focuses mostly on the psychological factors involved,
and makes no reference to physical misuse as a possible reason for not being able to
express musicality. While Roos (2001) does focus on the importance of freedom of
body movement in violin playing, the recommendations that she gives in her thesis
are in broad, general terms. Brief mention is made of the Alexander Technique as one
of several non-musical techniques that could help one to gain freedom of movement,
but no in-depth study is made of the actual processes involved in teaching body
movement or conveying sensory information to a pupil.
Koornhof (2001: 2) argues that a need exists to codify the expertise of master
teachers, as the “artistry” of teaching has been left too often “to intuitive emulation
rather than the application of rigorous, systematic method”. Through making use of
methodology derived from NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), he constructed a
model of the inter-personal teaching skills and strategies of the master teacher
Dorothy DeLay. Koornhof (2001) concluded that DeLay’s cognitive skills, her beliefs
about teaching and her style of communication, created a context of empowerment,
within which a pupil could experience optimal growth. As the focus of his study is
primarily on the psychological factors involved in the interaction between the teacher
11
and the pupil, it does not directly address strategies for the implementation of good
body-use in playing, or ways in which kinaesthetic awareness can be heightened in a
pupil.
However, Koornhof’s argument (based on Schön, 1987) for the need to identify the
processes used by acknowledged master teachers in the training of instrumental
performers, is also of relevance to this study. Koornhof (2001: 2) notes that the
training of violin teachers usually consists only of learning “the principles of the
mechanics of violin playing, as codified by different schools of playing and teaching”,
but does not focus sufficiently on imparting the actual teaching skills required to
convey such information to the student. Exceptional teaching skills are often
considered to be a manifestation of individual talent and personality, and therefore
outside the range of academic research. Koornhof (2001: 9) argues that systematically
studying the skills of master teachers “could illuminate the nature of teaching
expertise, and serve as framework for the training of instrumental teachers”.
Schön (1987) contends for the legitimacy of such research. Although a master
teacher’s expertise, or “knowing-in-action” (Schön, 1987: 22), differs from formal
academic knowledge, it is still “rigorous in its own terms” (Schön, 1987: 13). While
academic institutions generally promote musicological research with the
understanding that such research should inform practice, in reality, instrumental
teaching involves much more than the application of musicological knowledge
(Koornhof, 2001: 8). Schön (1987: 14) argues that the “question of the relationship
between practice competence and professional knowledge needs to be turned upside
down”, as purely academic knowledge does not take into account the dynamics of the
real world situation in which instrumental training takes place, and therefore cannot
generate the skills that are needed to achieve excellence in practice. Schön (1987: 17)
concludes: “We ought, then, to study the experience of learning by doing and the
artistry of good coaching. We should base our study on the working assumption that
both processes are intelligent and – within limits to be discovered – intelligible”.
The argument initiated by Schön (1987) and advocated by Koornhof (2001), supports
the rationale for this research paper. Havas’s method, ‘The New Approach to violin
playing’, was designed specifically to eliminate mental and physical interferences in
12
order to release the musical imagination (Havas, 1964: Introduction). Many people
attest to the fact that the New Approach has helped them to achieve greater unity of
mind and body (Frondenberg, 1987: 3), freedom from physical injury (Olsen, 1985:
5), as well as increased expressive abilities (Kreith, 2002: 4)1. As the New Approach
seems to be a highly effective method, which brings about an actual change in a
pupil’s use, an enquiry into the teaching practise of Kató Havas could be useful in
order to identify the specific skills and strategies that are needed to promote
kinaesthetic learning and establish an expressive technique in string players. The fact
that Havas is currently still teaching in Oxford, presents a unique opportunity to
obtain first-hand experience of her teaching expertise.
Combining an enquiry into Havas’s method and teaching skills with a comparative
study of the Alexander Technique, a scientifically verified method for re-educating
physical movement and increasing the coordination of mind and body (Stevens, 1996:
75; Barlow, 1973: 13), would significantly enhance the validity of such research.
Examining the New Approach from the perspective of the Alexander Technique could
also provide significant insight into some of the reasons for the efficacy of the
method. 2
The Alexander Technique has long been known to assist in the prevention and cure of
performance injuries (McCullough, 1996; Ben-Or, 1995; Jones, 2001). Many
musicians have made use of the Technique in order to refine their instrumental
technique and achieve ease in playing (Stein, 1999). Sanders (2002) also mentions
that most musicians today are familiar with aspects of the Alexander Technique, and
contends that good breathing, one of the first principles of the Technique, is an
essential requirement for good string playing in general, and in overcoming stage
fright in particular. Ben-Or (1995) notes that the increased coordination brought about
1 See Appendix F for more examples of such feedback. 2 Although other approaches to psychophysical education, such as the Feldenkrais method (Feldenkrais, 1990; Zemach-Bersin & Reese, 1990) and Ericksonian therapy (Gordon & Meyers-Anderson, 1981) have produced significant results in kinaesthetic learning, they fall outside the scope of this study. As the particular purpose of this study is to research possible parallels between the New Approach and the Alexander Technique, the focus of study will primarily be limited to these two methods, and the way in which they may resolve some of the problems that were identified in the background and literature review in this chapter. However, it is not the purpose of this study to suggest that any other discipline falling outside the delimitation of the subject is therefore of lesser value, or may not also provide solutions to some of these problems.
13
by the Alexander Technique enables performers to experience a unity between the
body and the soul in performance. Iammatteo (1996: 37) supports these observations:
For over a hundred years, performing artists have been using the Alexander Technique to enhance their ability to perform by improving inner balance and the relationship with the body….the ability to reduce tension enables the performer to step on to the stage like a clean canvas with an inner balance which is essential for a good performance. Many students mention an improvement not only in their performance ability but (sic) in the consistency of their performance.
The violinist Michele Makarski (as cited in Eisler, 2001: 51), winner of several
international prizes and competitions, including the Carnegie Hall competition, is an
artist who considers the Alexander Technique to be “one of the most important factors
in (her) personal and professional growth”. In an interview with Edith Eisler (2001),
Makarski recounts how she sustained severe playing injuries when some of her
teachers misguidedly advised her not to use a shoulder rest. “They were short and had
no necks, while I am tall and have a very long one, so in trying to accommodate their
wishes, I managed to paralyze myself completely” (Makarski, as cited in Eisler, 2001:
51). Makarski nearly abandoned her professional career due to the pain she
experienced, but an introduction to the Alexander Technique enabled her to resolve
her problems and to help herself on many different levels.
Makarski, as cited in Eisler, 2001: 51:
…my work with the Alexander method has been of enormous value to me and to my longevity as a performer, so I decided to go into training as an Alexander teacher…This will certify me as a private teacher and enable me to help a lot of people, especially my violin students and colleagues. The method is hardly ever taught from the perspective of a violinist who has experienced the pressures of playing and performing; I know how much pain can be involved and how this can keep people from realizing their full potential.
It is not surprising that several studies (Homann, 1997; Lloyd, 1986; Bosch, 1997)
confirm the efficacy of applying the Alexander Technique in instrumental and vocal
performance. In exploring the significance of the Alexander Technique for attaining
postural balance in piano playing, Homann (1997: 19) observes that mal-posture is
often the result “of a body acting without the conscious advice of the thinking brain”.
The lack of awareness of the way that the body is used in the act of making music, is
14
one of the most damaging habits among musicians, disconnecting the mind and the
body and resulting in a dependence on mechanical repetition (Homann, 1997: 19).
When instrumental teaching focuses primarily on the end-result without considering
the use of the student, it is not surprising that a student may lack the “awareness of the
muscular condition necessary to fulfil the conception” (Homann, 1997: 44). Her
conclusion is that the Alexander Technique not only improves postural balance, but
also significantly increases one’s kinaesthetic awareness, providing a valuable tool
against the many stressful stimuli encountered in piano performance (Homann, 1997:
47).
The purpose of Lloyd’s study is to examine the specific ways in which the Alexander
Technique increases kinaesthetic awareness and how this may be applied to the art of
singing (Lloyd, 1986: 4). While it is generally acknowledged that many singers
benefit from the Alexander Technique, Llyod (1987: 7) identified that a need existed
for a direct description of how this is actually accomplished. Lewis (as cited in
Lloyd, 1986: 7) recommended that studies “that explored specific relationships
between Alexander principles and the act of singing would do much to clarify the
benefits of the Technique for singers and teachers of singing”, and Lloyd (1986: 7)
consequently attempted to do so, using a case study approach.
Lloyd’s approach was to integrate the insights that she gained in Alexander lessons
with advice given by her singing teacher (1986: 131). Although both singers and
singing teachers are aware that certain postural attitudes are detrimental, the problem
remains of how to correct them, as the “only guide towards correcting that attitude is
the singer’s awareness of how the old habit feels and his ignorance of how the new
habit should feel” (Lloyd, 1986: 129). These untrustworthy feelings keep the singer
locked into his ineffectual behaviour, regardless of how much detail the ideal posture
may be described with (Lloyd, 1986: 129).
However, Lloyd (1986: 129) found that the Alexander Technique is able to solve this
dilemma, by bringing about an improved use in the student, increasing both their
physical flexibility and their conscious mental control of the muscles used in the
support system. She concludes that the Alexander Technique is a vital tool in both
performing and teaching, as one becomes able to facilitate change in the body habits
15
of those students whose performances are being hindered by their misuse (Lloyd,
1986: 133). Consequently, Lloyd (1986: 133) advocates that singing teachers should
ideally be trained as Alexander teachers as well.
Lloyd, 1986: 133:
It is not possible to overstate the increased powers of communication that the teacher can gain by training as an Alexander teacher…One’s powers of observation are increased a hundredfold; one’s understanding of body mechanics helps with the understanding of singing technique; one’s ability to identify the muscles that are not working becomes a vital tool in one’s own singing and in the students’ singing; and most important, one is given the power to actually change the posture for the better in those students that are being hindered by habitual postural imbalances.
However, as very few teachers are able to train as Alexander teachers, due to practical
considerations, Lloyd’s recommendation is for music teachers to work in conjunction
with Alexander teachers (1986: 133). Such collaboration would bring about quicker
results in the long run, as a student is usually “largely unaware of his tension habit
and usually unable to cure it through will-power” (Lloyd, 1986: 134).
Bosch (1997) investigated the use of the Alexander Technique in order to improve the
production of sound on the flute. Warren (as cited in Bosch, 1997: 7) asserts that
flautists and violinists are among the instrumentalists most likely to become
Alexander teachers, as the flute and the violin generally cause the most tension in
playing due to the off-centred playing position. Bosch (1997: 8) concludes that the
most desirable ideal would be to have a flute or violin teacher who is also an
Alexander teacher, in order to avoid the harmful tensions that are so easily elicited in
playing these instruments. Such a teacher would be able to help one to resolve the
problem of “combining the playing of an instrument with the most optimal body use”
(Bosch, 1997: 13). However, Bosch (1997: 8) rightly notes that there are only a few
such teachers, and that they are hard to find.
From the preceding review of the literature relating to the Alexander Technique and
its application in instrumental performance, the following can be concluded:
16
1. The Alexander Technique is very helpful in overcoming and preventing
performance injuries, refining one’s instrumental technique and improving
postural balance. The Technique increases the coordination of the mind
and the body, and brings about an inner balance that is vital to instrumental
performance. One’s kinaesthetic awareness is greatly increased through
the Technique, so that the body can be directed more consciously and
accurately in the act of making music.
2. Although the benefits of applying the Alexander Technique in
instrumental performance is clear, the problem remains as to how the
principles of the Alexander Technique can actually be integrated with
instrumental technique, and a description of how this can be accomplished,
is needed.
3. Studying with an instrumental teacher, who is simultaneously also an
Alexander teacher, would be the most desirable ideal, but due to the
relative shortage of such teachers, most musicians are unlikely to have this
privilege.
While Lloyd (1986), Homann (1997) and Bosch (1997) attempted to explore the
specific ways that the Alexander principles could be applied in singing, piano- and
flute playing respectively, a similar inquiry into specific relationships between the
Alexander principles and string playing could be helpful to illuminate the benefits that
the Alexander Technique has for string players and teachers, to paraphrase Lewis (as
cited in Lloyd, 1986: 7).
Stein (1999) briefly discusses the ways in which the Alexander concepts of balance,
directing, grounding, inhibition, and opposition can be applied in string playing, but
does not give an in-depth description of the way in which these principles can be
integrated with instrumental technique. McCullough (1996) researched the
implications of the Alexander Technique for string players and teachers, with
reference to Paul Rolland’s pedagogical ideas1. This study illuminates aspects of the
Alexander Technique that are relevant to string playing, such as the way in which a
1 Both Rolland and Havas studied with Waldbauer at the prestigious Academy of Music in Budapest during the 1930’s (Perkins, 1995). It is therefore perhaps not surprising that parallels with the Alexander Technique have been noted in both their methods.
17
healthy relationship between the head, neck and back can facilitate upper string
playing. While McCullough (1996) produces fascinating insights, her reasoning and
conclusions remain largely theoretical. A more practical approach is needed in order
to explore the ways in which the Alexander Technique can actually be integrated with
violin/viola technique. An inquiry into the practical teaching expertise of a violin
teacher who actually uses Alexander principles, knowingly or unknowingly, would
present the ideal vehicle for such a study.
Although many people have recognised the similarities between the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach (Perkins, 1995; Foxwell, 1987; Alexander, 1988;
Sommer, 1994), no research has yet been undertaken to identify and catalogue such
parallels between the two methods. It is my purpose to show that Katό Havas
intuitively combined her knowledge of violin technique with principles similar to
those of the FM Alexander Technique, and through organising these principles into a
systematised method, makes the acquisition of an expressive technique more
accessible to all.
1.4 Chapter outline
The research report will be presented in three parts. The first part of the study is
concerned with the research problem and design. With reference to the research
problem and the aims of the study that were identified in this chapter, the relevant
research design and methodology will be considered in Chapter Two.
In the second part, individual literature studies of the Alexander Technique and the
New Approach will be made, in Chapters Three and Four respectively. A comparative
study of the two methods is made in Chapter Five, which includes the conclusions
that were reached in this part of the study.
The third part of the research report considers the empirical study that was made of
Havas’s method. Chapter Six presents the results of the participatory action research
that was undertaken, with concluding comments. In Chapter Seven, final perspectives
regarding the research findings of both the comparative literature and the empirical
study are given, as well as a few recommendations resulting from the research.
18
Chapter 2
Research design and methodology
2.1 Research design
As the primary aim of this study is an in-depth description and understanding of the
nature of the similarities in the processes underlying ‘The New Approach to violin
playing’ and the Alexander Technique, the research was conducted within a
qualitative paradigm (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 270).
A multi-methodological approach was best suited to answering the research problem.
This has the added benefit of enhancing the validity and reliability of the research
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 275; Warwick & Osherson, 1973: 26). In the first phase of
the research, an in-depth literature study with the purpose of comparing the New
Approach and the Alexander Technique was made. Seeming parallels in the
underlying principles and procedures that constitute the two methods, as well as their
outcomes, were identified and analysed. The insights produced through the
comparative literature study were then tested empirically in the second part of the
research (Mouton, 2001: 180). The qualitative methods of data collection used in the
empirical study, include participatory action research, qualitative interviews and
observation.
In order to generate the necessary data with which to address the research question,
the existing literature and scholarship relating to both methods were considered in
depth. However, as the purpose of both the New Approach and the Alexander
Technique is to bring about a change in one’s actual use and functioning, practical
experience of both methods was also essential. It is only possible truly to know and
evaluate a method relating to one’s physical use through personal experience and
application of such a method. As the researcher is the main instrument in qualitative
research (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 273), such experience and participation is essential
in order to make the comparison between the methods with an insider perspective
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 270).
19
Jones (1976: 139) confirms that theoretical reasoning regarding sensory experience is
not sufficient in itself. Regardless of how well a theory may be constructed, “it does
not become valid until it has been put to the test of experience – to sensory
verification” (Jones, 1976: 139). However, a subjective account of sensory experience
is also not enough in itself, and needs to be supported by anatomical and
physiological reasoning in order to be of scientific value (Jones, 1976: 139).
In his research into the scientific principles underlying the Alexander Technique,
Jones (1976: ix) combined objective, data-based reasoning with an autobiographical,
subjective account of his own experiences of the Technique. The dual nature of
Jones’s approach also forms the basis of the research design for this study: the
extensive comparative literature study in the first phase of the research provides the
conceptual framework for the subjective account of actual experience in the empirical
study.
2.2 Methodology
The Alexander Technique was used as a construct through which the New Approach
was examined, in order to identify congruence between the two methods. Babbie and
Mouton (2001: 122) note that using procedures that have been proven to be reliable
can enhance the reliability of a study, which is a key concern in social research. There
is considerable scientific merit to using the Alexander Technique as an instrument of
measurement, as many prominent scientists and philosophers have attested to the
scientific nature of the Technique. Significant research has also confirmed this view.
George Coghill, generally regarded to be one of the most outstanding biologists of the
early twentieth century, was one of the first eminent scientists to endorse Alexander’s
method (Jones, 1976: 63). Coghill (as cited in Jones, 1976: 62) points out that it is the
actual demonstration of a theory that places it on a scientific foundation, and for this
reason he regarded Alexander’s method to be “thoroughly scientific and educationally
sound”. Sir Charles Sherrington, cited to be the “greatest physiologist of modern
times” (Stevens, 1996: 75), also supported Alexander’s work, as his own research,
and the studies conducted by Rudolf Magnus, had confirmed the crucial role that the
neck and the head play in the control of posture, balance and movement (Stevens,
1996: 75).
20
The American philosopher, John Dewey, described Alexander’s discovery as a “new
scientific principle with respect to the control of human behaviour as important as any
principle that has ever been discovered in the domain of external nature” (Dewey, as
cited in Jones, 173). Dewey staked his reputation on the scientific character of the
Alexander Technique, stating unequivocally that Alexander’s method “is scientific in
the strictest sense of the word”, as the principle was demonstrable in practise in
different situations and with different people (Dewey, as cited in Jones, 1976: 104).
Jones’s research supports Dewey’s opinion of the scientific importance of
Alexander’s discovery (Jones, 1976: 4). Using methods derived from experimental
psychology, Jones attempted to identify the mechanism that accounts for the
subjective sense of kinaesthetic lightness in the Alexander Technique. By integrating
the results from his research with his knowledge of anatomy, mechanics and
physiology, he created a “testable theory” of this mechanism (Jones, 1976: ix).
Many other studies have also provided direct experimental evidence for the efficacy
of the method. For instance, Dr. Wilfred Barlow conducted extensive research into
postural and tension defects at various educational institutions, including the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art, and the Royal College of Music in London (Stevens, 1996:
81). This research clearly demonstrated the effect of the Technique on posture and
one’s level of performance, while Dr. Barlow’s clinical experience as a medical
doctor produced evidence of the improvements in health brought about by the
Technique (Stevens, 1996: 82).
More recently, the sensitivity of modern scientific instruments has brought about a
deeper understanding of Alexander’s discoveries. Chris Stevens (1996: 81) has been
involved with many of these studies, which have also confirmed much of the initial
research conducted by Jones and Barlow. Professor Raymond Dart (as cited in
Stevens, 1996: 15) concludes:
The electronic facilities (of electromyography and electroencephalography) have confirmed Alexander’s insights and authenticated the technique he discovered in the 1890’s of teaching both average and skilled adult individuals to become aware of their wrong body use, how to eliminate handicaps and thus achieve better…use of themselves, both physically and mentally.
21
2.2.1 Measurement1
During the comparative literature study, a framework of the key concepts of the
Alexander Technique was constructed as an instrument of measurement2. Key aspects
of the Alexander Technique were selected and conceptualised in conjunction with an
Alexander teacher, to ensure their validity. Each of the concepts in the ‘Framework of
key concepts’ was provided with a code in order to make it useful for analysing the
data.
Creating an operational definition of the selected Alexander concepts, by specifying
the different dimensions for each of the concepts and identifying the relevant
indicators, made specific comparisons with the related processes in the New
Approach possible (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 112; Warwick & Osherson, 1973:
33). This procedure also brought about a more thorough understanding, not only of
the Alexander Technique itself and of the specific nature of the parallels between the
two methods, but also of the processes underlying the New Approach, and clarified, at
least in part, some of the reasons for the efficacy of the method.
The ‘Framework of key concepts’ was used as an instrument of measurement in all
the phases of the research. The analysis of data in qualitative research is a
comprehensive task, but through coding, the information could be organised in such a
way that it was possible to find the relevant data again with greater ease. In the
comparative literature study, the New Approach literature was coded and analysed
using the ‘Framework of key concepts’, in order to identify parallels with the
Alexander Technique. Data collected through observation and participation in the
New Approach lessons were coded and analysed in a similar way.
A difficulty in speaking about sensory experience is that many of the processes
involved are interlinked and occur simultaneously. It is not possible to isolate one
aspect of physical use without another being involved also. If an attempt had been
made to identify and describe all of the parallels between the New Approach and the 1 The term measurement is not used in a quantitative way in this document, i.e. the objective of the measurement is not the “quantification of constructs” (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 49), but the identification of particular Alexander Technique processes that have been conceptualised in depth, and “indicating the presence or absence” (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 111) of such concepts in the New Approach. 2 See Chapter 3.
22
Alexander Technique each time they appeared in the text, the study would have
become too intricate and convoluted. Therefore, it was decided also to insert the codes
in the margins of the text, in order to identify the various levels of congruence
between the New Approach and the Alexander Technique, without unnecessarily
disrupting the flow of the argument.
The codes were used in a qualitative way, in order to identify parallels with aspects of
the rich descriptions with which the Alexander concepts and processes were
delineated in the literature study, under related headings. As the basic principles are
formulated very differently in the two methods, each with its own distinctive
terminology and language, reasoned argument was the primary method of
demonstrating the parallels between the Alexander Technique and the New Approach.
2.2.2 Comparative literature study
The purpose in qualitative research is to understand events, actions and processes
within their own contexts, as opposed to the more atomistic approach of quantitative
variable analysis (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 272). It is only as one “understands events
against the background of the whole and how such a context confers meaning to the
events concerned, that one can truly claim to ‘understand’ the events” (Babbie &
Mouton, 2001: 272).
For this reason, it was decided to present the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach literature in separate chapters first, before drawing them together in the
comparative literature study. In this way, each method could be described within its
own paradigm, using the distinctive categories, concepts and terminology that are
unique to each method (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 272). Once the concepts from the
two disciplines are integrated in the comparative literature study, the demarcation
lines between the two methods may become blurred, leading to unnecessary
confusion, unless a clear picture of each method had been established first.
One of the problems encountered in the individual literature studies of both the
Alexander Technique and the New Approach, is that any attempt to separate the
different aspects of a physical discipline in order to study them in sufficient detail,
inevitably results in the artificial splitting up of that which is essentially a complex,
23
integrated activity, in which everything is interrelated. As was mentioned above,
individual concepts and procedures can only truly be understood in relation to the
whole (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 272), and therefore the Alexander Technique and
New Approach chapters were constructed after the model of a hologram, in a similar
way to the procedure followed by Babbie and Mouton (2001: xxi) in their textbook on
social research.
Both the New Approach and the Alexander Technique chapters begin with a brief
introduction, outlining the basic tenets of the method, after which a background study
relating to the development of the method is given. The background presents a wider
and slightly more detailed perspective of the method, while retaining an overview of
the interconnected nature of all the procedures. This is followed by an in-depth and
detailed look at the individual processes involved in the method. While this procedure
does result to some degree in the overlapping of material, it has the benefit of giving
sufficient detail to gain a true understanding of the underlying processes in both
methods, without losing sight of the broader context.
Using words to describe information relating to sensory experience is problematic, as
Alexander himself, and many others, had found (Jones, 1976: 33). Although a
procedure might be very simple in practise, “to describe it is not so simple, and it may
require familiarity with quite small detail if it is to be understood” (Barlow, 1973:
223). For this reason, comprehensive and detailed descriptions of specific aspects in
both methods were given - a procedure that is entirely congruent with the nature of
qualitative description (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 272).
The secondary data that was used in the comparative literature study was selected
with specific criteria in mind, as the authority of one’s sources and the degree of
representation that they afford, is a decisive factor of the final quality of such a study
(Mouton, 2001: 180). F.M. Alexander’s book The use of the self (1932) was chosen as
an important source, as it gives his own account of developing the Technique and is at
the same time the most accessible of his books. Other sources that were selected for
the Alexander Technique chapter include Frank Pierce Jones (1976) and Wilfred
Barlow (1973), as they had both personally studied with FM and AR Alexander. It has
already been noted that Jones conducted extensive research into the scientific nature
24
of the Alexander Technique, and in Body awareness in action (Jones, 1976), which is
used in this study, he gives a comprehensive account of both his research
methodology and findings. Barlow (1973, The Alexander principle) was a doctor of
medicine who worked with Alexander and eventually became the medical director of
the Alexander Institute. Details of his research have also been given earlier. Both
Jones and Barlow are therefore qualified to speak with considerable personal and
scientific authority on the Alexander Technique.
Alexander Technique by Chris Stevens (1996) was chosen as another Alexander
source. Even though it seems that he had not personally studied with Alexander,
Stevens has been involved with many scientific studies investigating the effects of the
Alexander Technique, which have enabled him “to find improved ways of teaching
the Technique” (Stevens, 1996: 84). Pedro de Alcantara is a musician, rather than a
scientist, and although he also did not personally study with either of the Alexander
brothers, his book Indirect Procedures (1997) considers the specific application of the
Alexander Technique to music performance and teaching, and as such it has special
relevance for the purposes of this study. While many other books and articles
regarding the Alexander Technique were also consulted1 in the course of the research,
these five books form the core of the literature study on the Technique.
For the New Approach literature study, Havas’s four books on the New Approach
(1961, 1964, 1968, 1973) and Claude Kenneson’s The cellist’s guide to the New
Approach (which was endorsed by Havas herself), were selected as the main sources.
The biologist Dr Frances Hellebrandt (1969, 1970a, 1970b), who wrote extensive
articles on the biomechanical and neuro-physiological rationale of the New Approach,
was also used as an important New Approach source. Once again, many other
sources2 were consulted as well, but the books and articles mentioned above were
specifically selected for their personal and/or scientific authority, and were used as the
principal references.
In the individual literature studies, the relevant information was organised into
manageable themes in order to facilitate an understanding of “the various constitutive 1 See the list of references for the other Alexander Technique sources that were used in this study. 2 See the list of references for the other New Approach sources that were used in this study.
25
elements” of the data (Mouton, 2001: 108). The patterns and relationships that were
identified between the concepts in each method, contributed to the design of the
Alexander Technique and New Approach chapters. The ‘Framework of key concepts’
that was developed in the study of the Alexander Technique, served as a model
according to which the comparative literature study in Chapter Five was constructed.
2.2.3 Participatory action research (PAR)
Whyte (1991: 8) notes that although it is generally accepted “that good science must
eventually lead to good practise”, the prevailing view in mainstream behavioural
research is to assume that others will make use of the basic facts and relationships that
social researchers have discovered. Consequently, a direct connection between such
research and action is seldom established. Participatory action research, on the other
hand, seeks to create an approach in which research and action are closely linked, in
order to advance science while yet producing practical results (Whyte, 1991: 8).
Whyte et al (1991: 21) argue that “science is not achieved by distancing oneself from
the world”, and that it is possible to pursue both scientific truth and specific solutions
to concrete problems simultaneously.
Although PAR is commonly used in grassroots development interventions and has its
origin in the specific concerns and problems associated with social research in
developing countries (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 331), it is currently being practised in
an increasingly wide-ranging diversity of fields and in a variety of forms (Babbie &
Mouton, 2001: 314). PAR seems to be particularly well-suited to researching a
method of physical re-education such as the Alexander Technique or the New
Approach, as it can be argued that both these methods are in their very nature a form
of PAR. Babbie and Mouton (2001) list the following key aspects of PAR, that are
demonstrably present in both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach:
1. It involves participation and collaboration between the researcher, or change
agent (teacher), and the participants (students). This is the most distinctive
feature of PAR and it influences all other aspects of this research paradigm.
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 315.)
26
2. It is concerned with bringing about positive, progressive, remedial and
corrective change. This is the major characteristic that distinguishes PAR from
other types of action research. (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 321.)
3. Empowerment is the central focus and goal of PAR: it is primarily an
approach for enabling participants (students) to become protagonists in their
own situations, by analysing their own particular situations and problems
critically, and advancing their own solutions. Learning how to learn is a
central objective of PAR, which takes place through collaborative
investigation and is accompanied by reflective dialogue. (Babbie & Mouton,
2001: 318, 322, 323.)
[Both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach aim to teach students
to become self-reliant, through teaching them to direct their own use and
becoming their own experts in finding solutions to problems.]
4. The role of the researcher (teacher) in PAR is supportive and facilitative, with
the researcher (teacher) playing a catalytic role, rather than a domineering or
imperialistic role. The distance between the researcher (teacher) and the
participants (students) is decreased, and a partnership based on trust is
established, in which both participate equally in developing a common field of
knowledge and a shared consciousness. (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 317-318.)
5. The participants’ subjective experience of and perspectives on their own
situation is relied upon and incorporated into the research process. Merging
the participants’ (students’) local knowledge and the researcher’s (teacher’s)
academic knowledge into a common field of knowledge allows for a more
accurate and comprehensive grasp of a situation. (Babbie & Mouton, 2001:
318-320.)
[In both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach, the academic
knowledge of the teacher is only helpful if the pupil’s own experience,
knowledge and feedback are also taken into consideration. The teacher’s
knowledge has to be translated into a language that is accessible to the student,
and rediscovered by the student in terms of his or her own use, before it can be
of value.]
6. PAR is sometimes defined as a methodological approach to develop
consciousness in the participants, as raised awareness is essential in order to
achieve effective transformation (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 322).
27
[Increasing awareness in a student is a major objective in both the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach.]
7. PAR induces a sense of autonomy, ownership and long-term motivation in the
participants (students), thereby increasing the possibility for transformation to
endure (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 319, 325).
PAR facilitates a researcher’s in-depth understanding of a situation, and therefore a
qualitative methodological approach, with its interpretative and inductive nature, is
used most often in such research (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 326). Because of its
applied and problem-solving nature, PAR is multidisciplinary and eclectic (Babbie &
Mouton, 2001: 325). The research methods that are used in PAR are tailored to each
specific situation, and there are an unlimited variety of ways in which data can be
obtained. The definition of data in PAR is also very wide, including both expressive
forms of data such as music, dance and theatre, as well as the more conventional
forms of data (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 326).
As the focus in PAR is on subjective experience (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 326), data
for the empirical component of this study were gathered through participation in both
Alexander Technique and New Approach lessons. In this section of the study, the
researcher was simultaneously also the participant, with the New Approach and
Alexander teachers that were consulted, taking the role of the change agents (cf
Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 316, 317).
A series of ten Alexander Technique lessons was completed prior to the New
Approach lessons in order to gain an insider perspective of the processes and
procedures of the Alexander Technique, which made meaningful comparisons
between the two methods possible (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 270). These regular
lessons with the Alexander teacher, Yvonne Becker, have continued throughout the
duration of this project, resulting in continually increasing insight and understanding
of the Technique.
During the fact-finding trip (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 315) to the United Kingdom
in 2003, I also had two Alexander lessons (15 and 24 July, 2003, London) with Vivien
Mackie, a well-known cellist who had studied with Pablo Casals and later became an
28
Alexander teacher. Ms Mackie specialises in applying the Alexander Technique to
musicians, and this experience generated valuable information that was later very
useful in comparing the two methods.
The following sources were selected for collecting primary data about the New
Approach:
1. 16 & 17 July 2003, Oxford:
The New Approach lessons with Katό Havas
2. 19 July 2003, Oxford:
A New Approach workshop presented by Katό Havas
3. 21 – 23 July 2003, Marple:
A ‘Six Lesson Course’ with Gloria Bakhshayesh, Havas’s personal
representative
4. 21 – 23 July 2003, Marple:
Observation of New Approach lessons, given by Gloria Bakhshayesh
The methods of data collection included participation, observation and unstructured,
qualitative interviews. In addition to participation in the lessons with Havas and
Bakhshayesh, the New Approach workshop (19 July, 2003) included participation as
well as observation. An interview1 with Kató Havas was conducted during the lesson
on 17 July 2003, in order to ascertain the degree of direct influence that Alexander
may have had on the formulation of the New Approach2.
A more unconventional way of collecting data that is often used in PAR, involves
reflective and empowering dialogue between the change agents and the participants
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 327). During the lessons with both the New Approach and
the Alexander teachers, dialogue was frequently used in exactly the same way as
described below by Babbie and Mouton (2001: 327):
Through dialogue participants are helped to develop knowledge by learning from their own reality and specifically by learning to critically analyse their own particular situations and problems. (Babbie and Mouton, 2001: 327.)
1 See Appendix D for the interview transcript. 2 This inquiry was later extended through correspondence with Havas and other key figures. See Appendix E.
29
The central tool for producing data during the fieldwork consisted of keeping
extensive and detailed written records (Mouton, 2001: 107). These notes described the
procedure of events as well as my own subjective experience of them (cf Babbie &
Mouton, 2001: 326). Tape recordings of the interview and all the lessons were also
made, and later used to correct and confirm the written field notes. Certain sections of
the recordings with special relevance to the study were selected, transcribed and
integrated with the field notes.
The reduction of data is a very important analytical procedure in qualitative research
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 278). The raw data were continually corrected, reduced and
rearranged in manageable themes and patterns in order to make the information more
accessible for analysis. The summaries and condensed notes derived from the field
notes were used as the basis for identifying the specific themes according to which the
information was synthesised in the final report (cf Mouton, 2001: 108). The data were
analysed and interpreted through the ‘Framework of key concepts’1, in order to
identify and demonstrate the perceived parallels between the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique.
The description of actual cases seems to be the preferred means of communicating the
practise of PAR (Reason, as cited in Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 329). A case study
approach (in which the participants’ efforts to change over a period of time is
documented) is therefore frequently employed in PAR. Jones (1976: 167) used a
similar procedure in his report on the Alexander Technique:
Jones, 1976: 167:
The experience…is, in a sense, the crux of the system; and I believe that an attempt should be made to describe it in spite of the poverty of our kinaesthetic vocabulary. The best procedure seems to me to use first person and to confine my account to what I myself have observed, both in lessons given to me…and subsequently in my own teaching. In this way I can vouch for my own statements. I don’t wish to give the impression, however, that I am describing something that is private or mystical. What I have to say can be checked against the observations of others who have studied the method.
1 See 2.2.1.
30
The course of action described above was also adopted in the empirical component of
this study. In the first section of the PAR report, an account of my observations and
personal experience in the New Approach lessons and workshop, as well as the
Alexander lessons, was given. This was integrated with my observations and
experience in subsequently applying the New Approach principles in my own
teaching. These observations are confirmed by the experience of many others, whose
feedback in the KHANA newsletters was used as triangulation in the second section
of the report, in order to verify and validate the findings of the participatory action
research (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 329).
2.3 Validity
Issues relating to the validity and reliability of the research have been mentioned
throughout the preceding chapter, and will be considered in more detail in this
section. The topics that will be discussed, include objectivity, validity and reliability,
all of which are major concerns in qualitative research. As this study is essentially
comparative in nature, the question of conceptual equivalence will also be addressed.
Objectivity is an important concern in qualitative research, as the paradigm does not
lend itself to meeting the same criteria for objectivity that have been specified in
quantitative research. However, Münchausen’s objectivity, which is defined as “doing
justice to the object of study”, has particular relevance in qualitative research (Babbie
& Mouton, 2001: 274). The objectivity in a study is automatically increased by the
same conditions that improve the validity and reliability of the data, but these
conditions differ in qualitative and quantitative research (Babbie & Mouton, 2001:
274).
Triangulation is generally considered to be one of the most efficient ways of
increasing the validity and reliability of qualitative research (Babbie & Mouton, 2001:
275). Although triangulation is used to establish validity and not reliability, there can
be no validity without reliability, and therefore “a demonstration of the former is
sufficient to establish the latter” (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 278). Triangulation occurs
when multiple methods are used in the same study in order to overcome the inevitable
limitations inherent in using a single method (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 275). In this
study, more reactive research methods (i.e. participatory action research and
31
observation) were combined with less reactive methods (i.e. the comparative literature
study and other documentation). In the empirical study, the primary data obtained
through PAR and observation, are triangulated with the secondary data obtained from
the New Approach newsletters. The feedback from two Alexander teachers, who had
both also studied the New Approach, is included in this triangulation in order to
enhance the validity of the study1.
Babbie and Mouton (2001: 275) mention that other important aspects of enhancing
the validity and reliability of research include the writing of extensive field notes, peer
debriefing and member checks. It has already been noted that extensive field notes
were used as the central tool for producing data in the empirical study. In peer
debriefing, a colleague who is outside of the context of the study, but “who has a
general understanding of the nature of the study”, is consulted, in order to review the
“perceptions, insights and analysis” involved in the research (Babbie & Mouton,
2001: 277).
In this study, the co-supervisor, Magdalena Roux, was consulted for the purpose of
peer debriefing. Ms Roux is exceptionally well suited to perform this function, as she
is very knowledgeable about the Alexander Technique, having studied the method for
a number of years. She is also a leading cello pedagogue who is nationally and
internationally respected. With her insight into string pedagogy as well as the
Alexander Technique, it was possible to have constructive and meaningful
discussions regarding the findings of this study on an ongoing basis.
Member checks involve submitting the research findings to those from whom the
information was obtained, in order to verify both the data and the interpretations that
have been made (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 275). According to Whyte et al (1991:
41), such scientific meticulousness is inherent in PAR, as the very nature of the
paradigm “forces researchers to go through a rigorous process of checking the facts
with those with firsthand knowledge before any reports are written”. Babbie and
Mouton (2001: 328) agree that such social verification of data is a distinctive value of
PAR and one of the key principles in conducting this type of research. Through
1 See 6.4.
32
validating the research findings in this way, the quality of the PAR data is established
(Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 328).
For this purpose, the research findings were submitted on a continual basis throughout
the study to the New Approach teachers who had taught me: Kató Havas, who
designed the New Approach, and Gloria Bakhshayesh, her personal representative.
Vivien Mackie, the Alexander teacher whom I had consulted in London (July, 2003),
was unfortunately not available for this purpose, but Yvonne Becker, the Alexander
teacher whom I see on a regular basis, was intimately involved in all the phases of the
research. The text was submitted at regular intervals to these teachers to ensure that
the data would be accurately presented and that interpretations of the data would
remain conceptually close to the essence of both techniques1. This procedure would
have the added benefit of ensuring conceptual equivalence in comparing the two
methods.
Warwick and Osherson (1973: 11) note that a basic problem in comparative analysis
is to establish conceptual equivalence. Providing “conceptual definitions that have
equivalent, though not necessarily identical” meanings in different “cultures”, or
disciplines, is a major challenge in comparative research (Warwick & Osherson,
1973: 11). Warwick and Osherson (1973: 18) suggest that an effective approach to
solving the problem of equivalence can be found in involving “knowledgeable
members of all participating societies” in the research. By submitting the report to
teachers from both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach, they were all
equally involved in verifying the data, ensuring conceptual equivalence and giving a
critical perspective on the conclusions that were reached.
Finally, accuracy in research is enhanced through “the availability of qualitative
material about the individuals, groups, or events under study” (Warwick, 1973: 194).
For this reason, the credentials of all the individuals that were consulted in this study
were given as they were introduced in the text, in order to establish their authority and
reliability in their respective fields.
1 See appendix A for the feedback from both of these teachers regarding the findings in this study.
33
As the reliability of the research depends to a large degree on the reliability, ability
and trustworthiness of the researcher, who is the main instrument in qualitative
research (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 309), such information about the researcher is
also important. The researcher’s experience, training and perspective all influence the
descriptions of the fieldwork, as well as the subsequent analytical and interpretative
processes. The role of the researcher in this study was simultaneously that of
researcher and complete participant (cf Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 296), as well as
teacher and change agent, once the New Approach procedures that I had learnt were
applied in my own teaching.
As the researcher has been involved in performing professionally as a violist for more
than twenty years, and teaching the violin and viola for more than fifteen years, an
extensive knowledge of the field under study was brought to bear on this research.
The typical problems that are encountered both in instrumental performance and
teaching, initially gave rise to the formulation of the research problem and ensured
that there was sufficient insight into the procedures that are followed in the methods
under study. It is probable that a researcher with no knowledge of instrumental
performance, or without an appreciation for the exacting nature of using one’s body as
an instrument of expression (and teaching others to do the same), would not have
been able to grasp the subtleties encountered in both the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique.
Other factors that supported the researcher in undertaking this study, include a
comparative study of violin methods (Louw, 2003) and a course in research
methodology, that were both completed as a direct preparation for this study. A
review of the literature relating to the general and methodological issues that are
addressed in this enquiry, further contributed to the knowledge and ability that was
required to undertake the research.
34
Chapter 3
The FM Alexander Technique
3.1 Introduction
The FM Alexander Technique is a scientifically verified method for changing habitual
behaviour (Jones, 1976: 101) and promoting the integration of mind and body. The
Technique was developed in order to deal with the pervasive problem of faulty
sensory appreciation (Jones, 1976: 21), which is inextricably linked to the misuse of
oneself. It is designed to address mental attitudes and physical conditions
simultaneously, through teaching directive thinking while facilitating an improved
manner of use (Jones, 1976: 21). In this way, a pupil is taught to “associate a new
sequence of thought with a new manner of using the body” (Barlow, 1973: 206), so
that unnecessary tension during activity or rest can be perceived and eliminated.
Jones (1976: 4) believes that knowledge of the Alexander Technique “should be
available to teachers and therapists because of its unique power for dealing with habit
and change”, even in those instances where a person might desire to change, but is
convinced that he or she is unable to.
Jones, 1976: 4:
Most people are caught in monkey traps of unconscious habit. They cannot escape because they do not perceive what they are doing while they are doing it…The Alexander Technique opens a window onto the little-known area between stimulus and response and gives you the self-knowledge you need in order to change the pattern of your response.
3.2 Background
FM Alexander developed a method of constructive conscious control (Jones, 1976:
17) in order to overcome a debilitating vocal and respiratory problem he was
experiencing in his early acting career. His observations of himself resulted in the
procedure known today as the Alexander Technique.
3.2.1 Biographical details
Frederick Matthias Alexander, generally addressed as “FM” by those who knew him,
was born in 1869 in Tasmania. As a child he suffered from poor health and had to be
35
educated at home (Stevens, 1996: 20). After moving to Melbourne at the age of 20, he
achieved success as an actor specializing in reciting, and toured around Australia and
Tasmania (De Alcantara, 1997: 283).
Recurring vocal and respiratory problems eventually led to hoarseness and a complete
loss of voice during performances, for which he could find no cure from doctors or
vocal experts (Alexander, 1932: 7). He concluded that it was something he was doing
while reciting that caused the trouble (Alexander, 1932: 8), and decided to try to
discover the origin of his problems for himself. After many experiments, he came to
the conclusion that mental and physical processes cannot be separated, and that they
have to be addressed simultaneously in order to prevent an unsatisfactory way of
using oneself (Alexander, 1932: 5). With the improved use that he attained in this
way, he not only cured his vocal problems, but also noticed a remarkable
improvement in his general health (Stevens, 1996: 24).
Alexander started teaching the procedure, which he had developed to help himself,
professionally to others. He developed a way of guiding people’s movements with his
hands in order to convey directly, and relatively quickly, the information that had
taken him years to discover (Stevens, 1996: 24). With his brother, AR Alexander, he
established a successful teaching practice in Sydney and Melbourne from roughly
1898 until 1904, when he moved to England (Jones, 1976: 19). This gave him the
opportunity to present his discoveries to a larger public.
He achieved great success as a teacher in England, and later also in the USA. His
pupils included many prominent actors and such luminaries as Aldous Huxley and
George Bernhard Shaw (De Alcantara, 1997: 283). The American philosopher John
Dewey was strongly influenced by Alexander’s teachings and wholeheartedly
endorsed the scientific character of his technique (Jones, 1976: 104). The biologists
George Coghill and Sir Charles Sherrington were among Alexander’s many ardent
supporters in the various disciplines of science, education, politics and the arts (De
Alcantara, 1997: 271).
The Alexander brothers eventually started training others to become teachers of the
Technique as well, ensuring that FM’s legacy would be passed on to later generations.
36
During World War II, Alexander moved to America, but returned to England in 1943,
where he continued teaching until his death in 1955 (De Alcantara, 1997: 283).
Alexander wrote various pamphlets and four books to explain his theories. The first
book is Man’s supreme inheritance (1910), in which he presents the philosophy
behind his technique. In Constructive conscious control of the individual (1923),
Alexander demonstrates the ineffectiveness of the “end-gaining” widely practised in
Western culture, as opposed to the “means-whereby” principle of prevention that his
method promotes. The use of the self (1932) is commonly recognized to be his most
accessible book, and gives a detailed account of the self-observations and experiments
that led to the formulation of the Alexander Technique. Jones describes The universal
constant in living (1941), Alexander’s last book, as “a long, disconnected appendix to
the earlier books” (Jones, 1976: 57), that nevertheless contains much of interest to a
serious Alexander student.
Alexander’s books are not easy to read or understand, and he readily concedes that
“knowledge concerned with sensory experience cannot be conveyed by the written or
spoken word” (Alexander, 1932: viii), even though he had been very meticulous in
choosing the exact words with which to describe his discoveries (Barstow, 1983). He
further argues that, while anyone may rediscover for themselves the principles of the
Technique if they were to follow the same procedures as he had, it would take years
to “reach a point that can be reached in few weeks with the aid of an experienced
teacher” (Alexander, 1932: ix); no-one should therefore be surprised if they were
unable to teach themselves from his books. De Alcantara (1997: 285) suggests that
reading Alexander’s books should be complementary to taking lessons from a
qualified Alexander teacher, in order to gain a true understanding of the Technique.
De Alcantara, 1997: 285:
Alexander was one of the century’s great freethinkers, and….his discoveries are of universal importance. Society at large has yet to give Alexander his due; end-gaining and faulty sensory awareness lead us to deny our self-inflicted problems and ignore the solutions that he proposed.
37
3.2.2 The evolution of the Technique
With no other cure for his vocal problems, and faced with the prospect of potentially
harmful surgery, Alexander attempted to discover what he was doing while reciting to
cause the trouble (De Alcantara, 1997: 283). He gives a very detailed account of these
years of painstaking experimentation in The use of the self (1932), of which only the
most important conclusions will be summarised here.
Using mirrors to observe himself, Alexander noticed three distinct tendencies in his
reciting that did not seem to be present in his normal speaking: he pulled back his
head, lowered his larynx and audibly sucked in air through his mouth. He concluded
that this constituted “a misuse of the parts concerned” (Alexander, 1932: 10).
Observing himself again, he realized that he did the same three things in his normal
speech, but to a lesser extent. He discovered that, of these three tendencies, he could
only consciously avoid the pulling back of his head, and that this had a positive effect
on the other two tendencies as well, considerably improving the use of his voice. This
marks the first two important stages in his investigation, in realizing (1) the
importance of the head-neck relationship, or primary control, and (2) the close
connection between use and functioning (Alexander, 1932: 11, 12).
Through continued experimentation, Alexander discovered that the functioning of his
voice was influenced by the way he was using his whole body, not only the specific
parts related to speaking and reciting, and also that pulling his head back and down
was “inseparably bound up with a misuse of other mechanisms which involved the act
of shortening of the stature” (Alexander, 1932: 13). He noticed that the best vocal
conditions depended on lengthening himself while widening his back, and that in
order to maintain this lengthening he had to give himself conscious directions to keep
his head “forward and up” (Alexander, 1932: 14). However, he soon found that while
he could do these actions by themselves, he could not maintain the same conditions
while speaking or reciting (Alexander, 1932: 15).
When he used the mirrors once again to observe himself, he found that he was doing
the opposite of what he had decided to do, and actually had believed he was doing
(Alexander, 1932: 15). This discovery of the unreliability of sensory experience was
the turning point in his research. Alexander concluded that it was a delusion to
38
presume “that because we are able to do what we ‘will to do’ in acts that are habitual
and involve familiar sensory experiences, we shall be equally successful in doing
what we ‘will to do’ in acts which are contrary to our habit and therefore involve
sensory experiences that are unfamiliar” (Alexander, 1932: 16).
In trying to find out at which point in his doing he had gone wrong, he discovered that
he was using his whole body with undue muscular tension, particularly in his legs and
feet, and that this interfered with his balance (Alexander, 1932: 17). He recalled an
instruction from a vocal coach to take hold of the floor with his feet in order to get
better results in his reciting. Alexander (1932: 18) realized that, although he had tried
his best to copy his teacher, and had believed that if “told what to do to correct
something that was wrong” he would be able to do so, this was not the case. What he
had supposed to be an improved and satisfactory stance was in fact “exerting a most
harmful general influence upon the use of (himself) throughout (his) whole organism”
(Alexander, 1932: 18).
In attempting to carry out his teacher’s instruction, Alexander’s idea of reciting had
become connected to this misconception regarding his stance, and had influenced him
to cultivate a habitual use of himself that “constituted a combined wrong use of the
whole of (his) physical-mental mechanisms” (Alexander, 1932: 19). He realised that
his desire to recite would inevitably cause this habitual wrong use to come into play
and dominate any attempt to make better use of himself while reciting (Alexander,
1932: 19). The stimulus to wrong use, because it was habitual, was far stronger than
the stimulus of his desire to employ the new use of his head and neck.
Alexander also realised that he used himself habitually in a way that felt natural to
him, and that he depended on this feeling to direct his movements. Since it had led
him into error, he concluded that this feeling must be untrustworthy (Alexander, 1932:
21). He reasoned that everyone has an ingrained habit of judging whether experiences
were right or not by the way they felt. Any new use would inevitably feel different
from the old, and “if the old use felt right, the new use was bound to feel wrong”
(Alexander 1932: 32). Depending on the feeling that was the guide in the old way of
doing, might feel right and familiar, but it is wrong and will lead to error.
39
Alexander, 1932: 23:
…instinctive control and direction of use (has) become so unsatisfactory, and the associated feeling so untrustworthy as a guide, that it could lead us to do the very opposite of what we wished to do or thought we were doing.
This discovery pointed Alexander to a new field of inquiry, where he sought a way to
rehabilitate the sensory mechanism that had become untrustworthy through the
acquired habits of self-use (Alexander 1932: 21). He came to recognize that in order
to free himself from an instinctive, habitual reaction to stimulus, he would have to
rely on a conscious, reasoned direction instead of automatic sensory guidance
(Alexander 1932: 32). The procedure that he devised was to analyse the initial
conditions of use, then to reason out the means whereby a more satisfactory use could
be achieved, and finally to project consciously to himself the directions required for
realizing these means (Alexander 1932: 25).
Initially Alexander did not have much success in attempting to replace his old,
instinctive reactions with this new conscious and reasoned direction. As soon as he
received the stimulus to speak, and tried to do the new directions at the same time as
speaking, he reverted back to the old, familiar use of himself that felt right (Alexander
1932: 26). In seeking a solution to this dilemma, he discovered one of the most
important principles of the Alexander Technique: inhibition. Through inhibiting the
misdirection of his primary control (i.e. the head-neck relationship) associated with
the wrong habitual use, he was eventually able to stop the unsatisfactory reaction to
the idea of reciting at its source (Alexander 1932: 24).
Alexander found that part of the problem was that, in trying to be right, he was too
concerned with gaining the end (i.e. speaking) and reacted too quickly to stimuli. He
realised that he had to be more concerned with preventing himself from doing, and
that by refusing to react immediately to the stimulus, he was able to give himself
enough time to project “as many times as was necessary” the directions that he had
worked out as a new means whereby he would gain the end of speaking (Alexander,
1932: 27). This reasoned direction would ensure the improved use of his head and
neck, bringing about a satisfactory reaction to the stimulus to use his voice
(Alexander, 1932: 25). The important thing was, however, that he had to continue to
40
rely only on this conscious reasoned direction, even though the sensory feedback
might feel strange and wrong (Alexander, 1932: 32).
Alexander eventually managed to separate the stimulus to speak from his habitual
response, through inhibiting any immediate response to the stimulus to speak and
then, while continuing to project the new reasoned directions, he would stop to
reconsider his first decision to speak, either deciding not to proceed but to do
something else instead, or to make a new decision to speak after all (Alexander, 1932:
33). After following this procedure for a considerable time, Alexander gained
freedom from his tendency to revert to a wrong habitual use in reciting, resulting in a
marked improvement in his functioning. An unexpected side effect was that he also
became free from the nasal and respiratory difficulties that had troubled him from
birth (Alexander, 1932: 36).
3.3 The method
Although many different definitions of the Technique have been made by a great
number of people, including well-known scientists and scholars, it remains
problematic to communicate the true meaning of the Alexander Technique verbally,
as words are not sufficient to convey sensory experience to those who have not
experienced it (Jones, 1976: 33). In fact, a key feature of the Technique is that
Alexander eventually learned how to use his hands in order to impart adequately the
necessary information to his pupils (Jones, 1976: 15). While acknowledging the
limitations of any written account of the Technique, the most important aspects will
be considered in this section.
3.3.1 Summary
The Alexander Principle is that “use affects functioning” (Barlow, 1973: 17). While
there are many different ways of using the body mechanically at any time, for each
situation there is a particular body use that will allow for the best functioning
(Barlow, 1973: 67). Conversely, faulty muscular tension patterns lead to an
unreliability of performance, especially in activities where a special skill is required
(Barlow, 1973: 69).
41
As the concept of an activity sometimes becomes connected to flawed, “maladaptive”
experiences, conditions that lead to unsatisfactory results are created (Jones, 1976:
102). These results will be the outcome as long as the bad conditions exist.
Attempting to change such a bad habit is not easy, due to unawareness of the exact
nature of the particular pattern, and too often one bad habit is merely replaced by
another. It is a fallacy to suppose that if one is told what to do in order to correct
something that is wrong, “all that is required in order to bring about the right act is
will or wish on the part of the one who is to act.” (Dewey, as cited in Jones, 1976:
101.) “Debauched kinaesthesia” (Barlow, 1973: 96) is at the root of the problem, as
our senses deceive us. This is particularly true of muscular movement: a person may
think he or she is doing one thing, while actually doing the exact opposite (Jones,
1976: 183).
It is only when the sensations generated by the desired movement are actually
experienced, that the movement can be understood or known for what it really is
(Jones, 1976: 102). Words and ideas by themselves are not enough to convey this
sensory information, and they need to be connected with physical experience before
they can become effective (Barlow, 1973: 190). In the Alexander Technique, teachers
use their hands to lead a person to an improved kinaesthetic experience of the required
physical action. This is known as guided movement.
Through the increased sensory awareness that this brings about, faulty movement
patterns are identified, which can then be stopped through what Alexander called
inhibition. This most often, but not exclusively, relates to inhibiting the tightening or
shortening of the muscles in the neck and shoulder area, which interferes with the
primary control, i.e. the correct relationship of the head, neck and back. A sequence of
verbal commands, or directions, that have been learned in conjunction with the
correlated sensory experience, enables the pupil to recreate the improved movement
pattern for him- or herself (Barlow, 1973: 194.)
A lot of mis-use is caused through end-gaining, i.e. being so focused on attaining a
particular objective that no attention is paid to the way the self is used in the process.
In the Alexander Technique, focus is taken away from the ultimate end and placed on
each individual step of the process through a means-whereby principle, thus
42
promoting good use, as unsatisfactory habitual responses are inhibited along the way
and the intermediate steps required are consciously directed against a backdrop of
heightened sensory awareness (Jones, 1976: 195).
Applying the Technique becomes a continually evolving learning process, with
frequent new discoveries about the quality of movement. According to Barstow
(1983), the greatest value of the Technique is that it brings about an increasing
“experience of flexibility and freedom, giving controlled balance in all types of daily
activity as well as in all types of professional performance”.
3.3.2 Use
Carrington, as quoted in Becker, 2001: 43:
The Alexander Technique teaches directly the correct use of the self. In other words, it guides one towards the state of freedom and balance of body and mind that is the basis of effective performance in all activities.
The term the use of the self does not refer to the way specific parts of the body are
used individually in activity. Alexander (1932: 4) emphasised that he used the term in
a more comprehensive sense, to denote “the working of the organism in general.” All
his teaching was based on the fact that a person functions as a psychophysical whole
(Alexander, 1932: 44), and that all activities engage the whole person.
De Alcantara, 1997: 12:
The use of the self, then, is the way I react, with the whole of myself, in any given situation…The self consists of…a whole, so unified in its workings that no separate part (body, mind, spirit) can be said to exist independently of the others….if you are one, you work as one, and you cannot examine, change, or control one of your parts separately from the whole.
Alexander found that in order to solve his vocal problems, he had to attend to the way
he was using his whole body in the process, in addition to reconsidering the mental
attitudes and concepts related to this use1.
1 See 3.2.2.
43
The total pattern that characterizes a person’s responses to stimuli is included in the
term use. While heredity and previous experience cannot be changed or controlled,
use “can be brought under conscious control and redirected” (Jones, 1976: 46) in
order to increase a person’s creative potential. The Alexander Principle says that the
way in which the self is used, will affect the way a person functions (Barlow, 1973:
17). It follows that in order to enhance functioning, use needs to be improved (De
Alcantara, 1997: 16).
Misuse can be regarded as a stress disorder, “which habitually involves bodily
systems beyond the relevant ones, and in which the organism does not return to a
balanced resting state after activity” (Barlow, 1973: 97). This happens when an
inappropriate amount of effort, or wrongly distributed tension, is involved in carrying
out a particular action. These faulty, mal-distributed muscular tension patterns
interfere with optimal mental and physical functioning, and become habitual. Such
habitual misuse can disturb “the delicate, subconscious mechanisms for balance and
posture” (STAT, 1993), as can injury, and the less satisfactory ways of compensating
for this postural disturbance inevitably make it worse.
Barlow, 1973: 69:
Muscular control will only become possible if we can start from a properly balanced state of rest, and if we know how to return to (and maintain) such a steady state of muscular rest when we stop. Alexander’s concept of USE implied a conscious awareness of such a steady state.
Although the Alexander Technique deals with releasing inappropriate tension and re-
establishing a balanced resting state, it is not primarily concerned with physical
relaxation as such. De Alcantara (1997: 11) states unequivocally that the Technique
“is not a method of physical relaxation, or posture, or the use of the body, but of the
use of the self”.
Tension in itself is not negative, and the right kind of tension “is a prerequisite of
dynamic, energetic, vital human endeavour” (De Alcantara, 1997: 15). The problem is
rather that too much tension, or the wrong kind of tension, is used in activity. In fact,
a lack of the necessary tension in the right place is often the cause of inappropriate
tension elsewhere. It is futile to attempt to relax such compensatory stiffness directly,
44
as it will only release once the right and necessary tensions have been established.
True relaxation is not the cause, but rather the effect of good use, and “it is, therefore,
useless to seek out relaxation in itself” (De Alcantara, 1997: 15).
However, when a person cannot release residual tension after activity in order to
return to a balanced resting state, it remains latent in the body and can be triggered
merely by the idea of moving, as anticipatory tension or “set” (Barlow, 1973: 80). The
danger with such “over-active states” is that they become habitual, “and a
predisposition to adopt them will persist even when they temporarily disappear”
(Barlow, 1973: 80). This can, over time, change the physical framework by modifying
the bones and joints, warping and deforming the posture: “use influences function,
and function ultimately changes structure” (Becker, 2001: 43).
Alexander believed the universal habit of end-gaining to be the ultimate cause of
misuse, and this is at the core of his Technique (De Alcantara, 1997: 18). In end-
gaining, a person bypasses good use in an attempt to control functioning directly (De
Alcantara, 1997: 19). Working directly for ends, or goals and results, without
considering the way in which the self is used in the process, is ultimately self-
defeating as it leads to misuse, thus making the desired end unattainable (Barlow,
1973: 192).
Jones, 1976: 2:
No matter how many specific ends you may gain, you are worse off than before…if in the process of gaining them you have destroyed the integrity of the organism.
End-gaining “shows itself in the form of over-quick and over-energetic reactions”,
and leads people to “prepare for action by creating unnecessary muscle tension”
(Barlow, 1973: 192). Barlow (1973: 241) defines end-gaining as “any form of
behaviour which does not permit the feed-back of information except that which
relates to the one specific end desired”. The lack of attention to feed-back does not
allow for the continuous fine-tuning of motor movements during the activity (cf
Gardner, 1983: 11), and this lack of sensory awareness keeps one locked into a pattern
of misuse.
45
While “mechanization is an essential property of all habit” (Jones, 1976: 100), and not
all habits are necessarily bad, they become damaging “when they are automatic,
harmful, and beyond the control of the conscious will” (De Alcantara, 1997: 21). A
habit can be defined as “a familiar reaction to a certain stimulus” (De Alcantara,
1997: 21). Merely wishing to change a habit is not enough in order to do so, as the
stimulus to action will cause the inevitable, habitual responses to come into play as
soon as a person reaches directly for his ultimate goal.
Alexander proposed a means-whereby principle to deal with end-gaining habits:
through giving up the idea of immediately reaching for the goal, the old, stereotyped
response to the stimulus is inhibited (Jones, 1976: 2). The desired end is approached
indirectly through a series of intermediate steps that lead to good use, and which
become ends in themselves (Jones, 1976: 102).
De Alcantara, 1997: 33:
To change a habit, change the conditions that allow the habit to exist. Make a change in the use of the self, and the habit (a manifestation of the use of the self) must necessarily change or disappear, even without your working on the habit itself…Condition the total pattern, and the partial patterns will look after themselves.
In this respect, the Alexander Technique is fundamentally different from other
approaches of changing human behaviour: “It seeks to alter use, not functioning;
further, it seeks to alter use indirectly, through changes in the use of the Primary
Control” (De Alcantara, 1997: 34).
3.3.3 Primary control
After unsuccessfully attempting to change each of the tendencies to misuse that he
had observed in himself, Alexander concluded that they were “interrelated parts of a
total pattern of which the principal part was the change in the axis of the head” (Jones,
1976: 16). The basic premise of the Alexander Technique is that all activity is
dependent for its efficiency on the proper relationship of the head, neck and back, or
primary control. When the primary control is properly directed, the other uses of the
body tend to correct themselves and function as they should, as “the orientation of the
head influences the organization of the whole organism” (De Alcantara, 1997: 27).
46
When the head leads the body in activity, it brings about a muscular harmony
throughout the body, but if this relationship is disturbed, the whole system becomes
disorganised.
Alexander, 1932: 60
…there is a primary control of the use if the self, which governs the working of all the mechanisms and so renders the control of the complex human organism comparatively simple.
The biologist George Coghill pointed out that the locomotor function in vertebrates
involves two patterns: the total pattern, which is hereditary and innate, and partial
patterns that are individually cultivated (De Alcantara, 1997: 25). The primary control
is the mechanism of the total pattern, and it has an integrating effect on the
coordination of the body as a whole (De Alcantara, 1997: 27).
De Alcantara, 1997: 26:
Ideally the total pattern (hereditary and innate…) should take precedence over the partial patterns (individually cultivated). In other words, every localized action – the activity of limbs, hands and fingers, and of lips, tongue and jaw – should be executed in harmony with the co-ordination of the head, neck and back.
Alexander developed a way of using his hands to make changes in a pupil that went
far beyond simple postural adjustment and worked directly with this total, innate
pattern (Jones, 1976: 31), accessing reflexes that operate automatically without the
need for conscious control (Jones, 1976: 144). Through improving the use of the
primary control, the body’s innate reflex systems are released and restored to operate
effectively. These reflex responses work to maintain poise almost effortlessly (STAT,
1993), and bring about a kinaesthetic effect of ease and lightness in one’s movements
(Jones, 1976: 145)1.
The head-neck reflexes are responsible for changing the distribution of tonus
throughout the body (Jones, 1976: 42). Good use of the primary control, and hence
1 See 3.3.8 and 3.3.9.
47
the quality of muscle tone, requires a combination of the upward stretch of the spine
and the mobility of the head (De Alcantara, 1997: 33). The head balances freely on
top of the spinal column, with the back lengthening and widening, and the shoulders
broadening (De Alcantara, 1997: 31). As the head is allowed to tip slightly forward at
the atlanto-occipital joint through inhibiting any customary tightening or pulling back
(De Alcantara, 1997: 61), the stretch reflexes in the neck muscles are stimulated,
resulting in a higher quality of muscle tone throughout the body (Dawley, 2001: 21).
However, if the larger outside muscles of the neck become tense and contract the
spine, they override these desirable stretch reflexes, creating undue tensions
throughout the body. Inhibiting the “set or fixation” of the head brings about an
improved distribution of tonus in the torso and limbs, resulting in better coordination
and more control in all kinds of activity, “whether it is speaking, or writing, or playing
the flute” (Jones, 1976: 179).
In researching the reflex pattern that occurs when someone is startled, (i.e. the
stereotyped postural reaction to an unexpected loud noise), Jones (1976: 132) found
that the resulting postural changes do not all take place at the same time, but always
begin in the head and neck, before affecting the rest of the body. He goes on to say
that the startle reflex is a model for other, slower response patterns such as fear,
anxiety, fatigue and pain, which all show a similar pattern: the muscles in the neck are
contracted, thus shortening the neck and displacing the head, after which the postural
change continues down to the trunk and legs (Jones, 1996: 179). As these responses
are much slower than the startle pattern, they can be changed through inhibiting “the
first stage in the pattern, the head displacement, through which the rest of the pattern
is propagated” (Jones, 1996: 179). Such inhibition gives a person the freedom to
choose to respond in a more reasoned and appropriate way, instead of with a
stereotyped reaction that may be harmful.
The misuse of the head and neck is always reflected as misuse in another part of the
body, for instance as too much tension in one area, accompanied by a lack of muscle
tone in another part of the body. Conversely, misuse in any part of the body can only
be dealt with adequately once the primary control has been improved (Barlow, 1973:
40), confirming again the supremacy of the total pattern over the partial: “Condition
48
the total pattern, and the partial patterns will look after themselves” (De Alcantara,
1997: 33).
The misuse of the primary control has many causes. Apart from emotional states such
as fear, anxiety or fatigue as mentioned above, the way a person uses him- or herself
in any general or specialised activity can cause interference in the head-neck
relationship. Bad postural habits in every day activities such as sitting, reading or
walking can all cause the misuse of the primary control. A cellist might twist the head
to look at the left hand, or a violinist might misuse the head, neck and back in an
effort to hold the instrument up, exerting a most harmful effect on the primary control
(De Alcantara, 1997: 32). Even attempts at improved posture can cause misuse of the
primary control if a fixed, static position is adopted in an effort to be right.
The region at the base of the neck, known as the hump, is a “veritable maelstrom of
muscular co-ordination” (Barlow, 1973: 42). The activities of the shoulders and
upper-arms exert a distorting influence in this area, and the effects of stress and
tension also accumulate in the muscles in this region. It is also from here “that the
head itself – the structure that carries man’s most important sensory equipment of
sight and hearing, taste and smell, and balance – has to be co-ordinated at rest and in
movement” (Barlow, 1973: 42). Consideration of all these factors underlines how
susceptible this area is to misuse, with a potentially harmful effect on the primary
control.
Everyone is born with a primary control by virtue of having a head, neck and back,
and while it mostly functions below the level of consciousness, it is possible to learn
to use the primary control consciously, and in a more constructive way (De Alcantara,
1997: 26). This is accomplished not by doing something right, but through stopping
the wrong thing from happening: the head is prevented from contracting into the spine
(De Alcantara, 1997: 31). According to De Alcantara (1997: 31), there are many ways
of changing the use of the primary control. For instance, a cellist can be prevented
from twisting his neck in order to look at his left hand by having him look elsewhere.
However, he believes the hands-on approach to be superior (De Alcantara, 1997: 32),
49
where Alexander teachers actively prevent the contraction of the head into the neck
by using their hands, while guiding the pupil in carrying out everyday activities1.
Through improving the use of the primary control, positive changes can be made in
all spheres of life. De Alcantara (1997: 34) gives the following three guidelines for
solving problems (mental, physical, technical or musical): (1) the first consideration
should always be to prevent interference with the natural workings of the primary
control; (2) at best, all activities or exercises should enhance the natural workings of
the primary control; (3) at worst, no procedure should ever require the misuse of the
primary control.
Finally, the ability to use the primary control well depends on the reliability of
sensory awareness, i.e. “the ability to gauge tension, effort and movement” (De
Alcantara 1997: 194), which will be the subject of the next section.
3.3.4 Sensory awareness
It is a common misconception that all that is necessary to change a harmful habit is to
practise an improved way of moving, once it has been pointed out (cf Dewey, as cited
in Jones, 1976: 101). Only a person who already has good habits “can know what the
good is” (Dewey, as cited in Jones, 1976: 102). Man has no kinaesthetic knowledge of
an act before actually experiencing it, and therefore is blind on a sensory level to the
new movement that is being required. Having to let go of the security of the old, well-
known sensory experience at the same time, further complicates the re-education
process.
The difficulty arises from the fact that the habitual way we use ourselves has become
so familiar that it feels right, even when it might be inefficient and harmful
(Alexander, 1932: 84). This sense of rightness is intimately bound up with the
patterns of movement and posture that we have developed throughout our lives; even
our memory patterns are closely connected with “the substratum of muscle-tone”
which underlies our use (Barlow, 1973: 196). “This means that, the moment we try to
carry out a basic re-education of USE, we very rapidly run up against our attachment
1 See 3.3.5.
50
to our old feeling of ourselves” (Barlow, 1973: 196l). As new use will bring about
new and unfamiliar experiences, they are bound to feel wrong if the old use felt right
(Alexander, 1932: 32). The sensations accompanying new use can feel so wrong that
one might not want to go through with the new use, but instead revert back to what
feels familiar and right. “People don’t do what they feel to be wrong when they are
trying to be right” (Alexander, 1941: 110).
This untrustworthy sensory awareness makes it very difficult to change one’s
behaviour, as there is no reliable sensory standard that can act as a guide in the new
way of moving. In trying to correct a particular problem, far too much effort can be
used, thereby producing side effects that are as undesirable as the original condition
(Jones, 1976: 20). Deliberately taking up a new position and “trying to be right”,
causes new faulty tension patterns and inevitably promotes anxiety (Jones, 1976: 20,
191). Unreliability of sensory awareness can even lead one to do the very opposite of
what one intended to do (Alexander 1932: 23).
Proprioception is the sensory mechanism through which the brain receives
information (mainly from the joints, tendons and muscles) about the state of the body
(Stevens, 1996: 35). It is equal to the five other better-known senses, and it is the
sense that the Alexander Technique is primarily concerned with (De Alcantara, 1997:
41). It was known vaguely as “muscle sense” in earlier times, and only clearly defined
and named as proprioception in the 1890’s (De Alcantara, 1997: 40).
De Alcantara, 1997: 40:
Proprioception concerns itself with all aspects of muscular activity: orientation in space, relative position of body parts, movement of body and limbs, the gauging of effort and tension, the perception of fatigue, static and dynamic balance.
Without proprioception, the body becomes “blind and deaf to itself…and…ceases to
‘own’ itself, to feel itself as itself” (Sacks, as cited in De Alcantara, 1997: 41).
Although the sensations of position, mass, and movement form a very large part of the
impressions received by the brain (Jones, 1976: 165), proprioception operates
primarily on an unconscious and automatic level. Most people are not used to making
kinaesthetic observations and prefer to rely on feedback from the other senses, “rather
51
than critically examine…feelings of tension and weight” (Jones, 1996: 180).
Alexander’s great discovery was that the proprioceptive system could be brought
under conscious control (De Alcantara, 1997: 41).
De Alcantara, 1997: 41:
Alexander’s genius consisted in (1) understanding that your conception of movement, of action, of yourself, of others – your conception of life – is entirely dependent on sensory perception; (2) highlighting the importance of proprioception in relation to the total use of the self; (3) realizing the pervasiveness of faulty sensory awareness; and (4) developing a method for bringing proprioception into the sphere of conscious, reliable guidance and control.
Sensory awareness becomes unreliable through the misuse of the self: “The freer a
body part is, the better able it is to sense accurately what it is doing” (De Alcantara,
1997: 42). Tension in the body distorts the information that the brain receives about
where the parts of the body are relative to each other. The many proprioceptors, or
muscle spindles, in the neck are pulled and stretched by every movement in the body,
stimulating stretch reflexes that help to maintain balance (Hogg, as cited in De
Alcantara, 1997: 28). Any mal-distributed tension patterns in the body will inevitably
cause the neck muscles to contract, thereby disturbing the many proprioceptors in the
neck and distorting their feedback (De Alcantara, 1997: 42). “Misuse, in other words,
always causes a distortion of sensory perception” (De Alcantara, 1997: 43). By the
same token, sensory awareness can only be improved as the use of the whole self is
improved, with a change in the relationship between the head, neck and back (De
Alcantara, 1997: 165).
Alexander believed that the reason that re-education procedures usually failed, was
because “they did not take into consideration the wrong mental attitudes that were
inextricably bound up with the wrong physical conditions” (Jones, 1976: 20). While
all stimuli to action are received through the sensory mechanisms (Alexander, 1932:
43), it is also sensory awareness that links conception to experience: sensory feedback
(kinaesthetic, visual, aural etc) shapes our idea or interpretation of an experience (De
Alcantara, 1997: 43). This idea, in turn, will determine how we respond to the next
stimulus for that particular experience, creating a vicious circle in which experience
creates conception, and conception determines experience (De Alcantara, 1997: 43).
52
Barlow (1973: 72) calls this our “body-construct”, shaped by the sum of all the
“previous learned experience of the body”, through which we subsequently interpret
everything we experience. “Such a ‘body construct’ produces (and is based on) our
habitual USE of our bodies, and it forms the background to our perceptions” (Barlow,
1973: 211).
This circle is kept closed through faulty sensory awareness, as all instruction to better
use will be interpreted according to one’s habitual, faulty sensory perception, leading
to a misconception of what is required (De Alcantara, 1997: 43). When this
misconception (of the instruction to better use) is executed with one’s customary
misuse, and the results of the completed action evaluated through faulty sensory
perception, one is led even further away from the desired end. This will be the
outcome “as long as faulty sensory awareness conditions both (one’s) conceptions
and (one’s) experiences” (De Alcantara, 1997: 43).
Through using his hands to give a pupil “a new experience, untainted
by…preconceptions or by the memory of previous attempts” (De Alcantara, 1997:
44), Alexander succeeded in breaking the vicious circle caused by debauched
kinaesthesia. The improved use that is brought about through the guidance of an
Alexander teacher’s hands causes an automatic and indirect improvement in sensory
awareness, “awakening the pupil’s capacity to compare and discern” (De Alcantara,
1997: 45), as the proprioceptors in the body, and especially in the neck, are no longer
being disturbed by faulty tension patterns. The sensations generated by the guided
movement become a background against which unsatisfactory and ineffective habitual
behaviour can be recognized.
Jones, 1976: 51:
When the pupil perceives directly through the kinesthetic sense and can compare a habitual with a nonhabitual way of doing something, he doesn’t need words in order to grasp the significance of the experience.
Through the way in which touch is used in the Alexander Technique (and the
improvement in the head-neck relationship that is brought about), an individual can be
made more aware of sensory feedback in relation to the key relationships in the body
53
(Jones, 1976: 168), so that tensional patterns can be perceived that would otherwise
not be noticed. Once one becomes aware of harmful behaviour on a sensory level, it
becomes possible to inhibit1 such behaviour, freeing the reflex systems of the body to
work optimally, and bringing about improved use.
3.3.5 Guided movement
One of Alexander’s most important discoveries was that, by using his hands, he could
communicate information directly through the kinaesthetic sense to his pupils (Jones,
1976: 155), thereby greatly accelerating the re-education process. While Alexander
maintained that anyone could rediscover the same principles as he had, in practise it
would take the same insight, patience, determination and genius he had demonstrated,
in order to “succeed in breaking the vicious circle of faulty conception and faulty
experience without the help of guiding hands” (De Alcantara, 1997: 84). It was
through his own frustration in trying to convey his discoveries to his pupils that
Alexander developed the hands-on approach to teaching, which is one of the defining
characteristics of the Alexander Technique (De Alcantara, 1997: 84).
While words cannot convey sensory information adequately (Barlow, 1973: 190), and
are easily misinterpreted due to debauched kinaesthesia, Alexander found that he
could better guide a pupil into an improved use (that might feel unfamiliar and
‘wrong’) through touch or manipulation (De Alcantara, 1997: 44), thereby imparting a
new sensory experience. It was through “applying the inhibitory control…to the use
of his hands” that Alexander learnt to make changes in a pupil “that were different
from ordinary manipulation or postural adjustment” (Jones, 1976: 31). Alexander
teachers typically spend many hours refining the use of their hands during their
training in order to learn to use their hands in this way (De Alcantara, 1997: 44).
Jones (1976: 81) believes one of the basic principles of the technique to be that the
“amount of kinesthetic information conveyed is in indirect proportion to the force
used in conveying it”. By using less strength to convey more sensory information, an
Alexander teacher’s hands encourage a specific quality of muscle tone in a pupil,
1 See 3.3.7.
54
which, “together with words of instruction, helps to release inappropriate tension and
allows the body to become better aligned and balanced” (STAT, 1993).
The teacher has “a very acute sense of what is happening in the student’s muscles
from his hands”, which helps him or her to ensure that the primary control is working
well during the activity (Stevens, 1996: 53), and encourages certain favourable
reactions in the pupil. The various ways of using the hands overlap, as it is not
possible to touch a pupil in order to monitor their feedback without automatically also
causing a change in their awareness, and consequently their use (De Alcantara, 1997:
85). An Alexander teacher’s hands are used in a healing way to soothe, reassure and
help release excessive tension, as well as to guide and support the pupil through the
various required movements (De Alcantara, 1997: 85).
Alexander teachers use simple gestures from daily life (such as sitting and standing)
to help create awareness of habitual reactions and to teach a pupil inhibition and
direction, which can, in time, be applied to all activities (De Alcantara, 1997: 87).
Through bringing inhibition to the fore by actively preventing the contraction of the
head into the neck (De Alcantara, 1997: 32), an Alexander teacher ensures that “rather
than doing the right thing, a pupil stops doing the wrong thing”, thereby avoiding end-
gaining (De Alcantara, 1997: 44). Initially a pupil is asked not ‘to do’ the desired
movement (which will bring the habitual response to the stimulus for that particular
action into play), but to allow the teacher to initiate the movement while the pupil
observes, paying attention to the sensory feedback (Jones, 1976: 156). As the
underlying feeling tone of the movement is changed, bringing about a “kinesthetic
effect of lightness that (is) pleasurable and rewarding” (Jones, 1976: 2), a pupil
becomes aware of the difference between the guided and habitual movements.
Jones, 1976: 156:
Ultimately a pupil must be able to make reliable kinesthetic observations of himself in activity…The purpose of the lessons is to sharpen the kinesthetic sense and to increase self-knowledge and self-control.
As the guided movements begin to feel easier than the habitual, the pupil begins to
learn the technique for him- or herself. “The teacher’s hands are like a catalytic agent
55
in a chemical experiment. They release a process that goes on without them” (Jones,
1976: 156). Because the pupil had an initial experience of the improved use, the
subsequent learning process is made much easier (Jones, 1976: 2). Through the
directions that have been learnt in conjunction with the experience of improved use, a
pupil eventually becomes able to recreate the movement pattern independently of the
teacher.
3.3.6 Direction
While the guided movement gives a pupil a new sensory experience of improved use,
it is self-defeating to attempt to recapture the kinaesthetic effect of lightness in itself,
as it is the “indirect effect of a psychophysical process” (Jones, 1976: 10). The effect
of lightness and ease1 serves primarily as evidence of improved use, and the main
function of increased sensory awareness is “to provide a background of feeling tone
against which maladaptive response patterns (can) be recognized for what they (are)”
(Jones, 1976: 10).
De Alcantara, 1997: 192:
You should seek never to reproduce the sensations of a right action, but rather its co-ordinative processes, the sensations being but an effect of these processes. ‘The experience you want is in the process of getting it,’ said Alexander.
The “co-ordinative processes” are recreated by projecting to oneself a verbal pattern
that has been linked to the new, improved use (Barlow, 1973: 132). Barlow (1973:
130) considers this directing to be the truly innovative aspect of Alexander’s
approach. While the teacher uses his or her hands to guide the pupil into a more co-
ordinated movement, he or she verbalises a sequence of directions that closely match
the occurrences being induced in the pupil’s musculature (Barlow, 1973: 130). The
pupil eventually learns to associate the experiences and sensations generated by the
guided movement with their respective verbal commands (De Alcantara, 1997: 60).
The directive words are not used to describe the unknown, but have become linked to
the shared experience of the teacher and pupil. They assist in clarifying the pupil’s
1 See 3.3.8.
56
thinking, by formulating “an operational definition of something that is already
known” (Jones, 1976: 167).
It is important to note that words are merely an aid to organizing the kinaesthetic
experiences, and not the experiences themselves (De Alcantara, 1997: 62).
Furthermore, Jones (1976: 157) cautions that words can take on a ritualistic quality
and can “get in the way of observing and act as a substitute for thought”: a person
might be too focused on the words as an end in themselves, instead of paying
attention to sensory feedback. Another difficulty is that words often carry
connotations from earlier experiences that may interfere with new sensory
experiences, and should therefore be used with caution (Jones, 1976: 158). However,
Jones (1976: 159) does concede that any teaching device is legitimate if it facilitates
learning and does not become an end in itself. Heightening awareness, observing and
perceiving – i.e. “knowing objects and events by the senses” (Jones, 1976: 158) -
should remain the focus at all times.
Alexander required “a minutely sensitive attention” from his pupils in order to set up
“a new ordered structure” in their bodies, in which the peripheral movements of the
limbs are subordinated to the central co-ordination of the head, neck and back
(Barlow, 1973: 131). This structure is ordered in the sense that it is consciously
projected as a command, and also ordered in that sequential attention is given to the
body “in a certain 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., order” (Barlow, 1973: 131). In this way, a
standard of use is presented against which feedback from the muscles can be matched,
so that “‘mis-match’ signals (can be) eliminated and muscular matching obtained”
(Barlow, 1973: 132). Eventually a pupil becomes able to evoke the desired state
simply by projecting the orders, or directions, to him- or herself. Barlow (1973: 191)
gives a very concise summary of this process:
A sequence of such verbal directions is taught whilst a better tensional balance is obtained all over the body; the sequence is designed to scan the body in serial order…The sequence of directions thus provides a model with both spatial and temporal co-ordinates. Such a sequence fulfils the function of checking the development of too much tension and of restoring a resting state when it has been disturbed. If kept in mind during performances, it will ensure that deviations from the resting state are not excessive. (Barlow 1973: 191.)
57
This sequence of orders is not concerned with maintaining a particular physical
position as such, but with the spatial orientation that exists within each position. A
position is right only in as much as the interplay of directions within the position is
right, and wrong when it is not (De Alcantara, 1997: 66). “Position, muscular
movement, and ‘direction’ are three different activities…(and) the third activity –
‘direction’ - should go on inside the other two activities” (Macdonald, as cited in De
Alcantara, 1997: 66).
The directions are expressed in phrases such as “let the head go forward and up”,
“allow the heels to go down”, and “shoulders sideways and apart” (De Alcantara,
1997: 60). These phrases illustrate clearly the “syntax” to directing (De Alcantara,
1997: 61), in which three distinct elements interact in a very precise way: the desired
action, the particular body part, and the required orientation in space. As different
parts of the body call for different actions and orientations in space, many different
possible directions can be given (De Alcantara, 1997: 61). Eventually, the directions
are reduced to a shortened phrase (such as “think up”), yet conveying a depth of
experiential meaning that is not easily described in a few words. “The words become
a mnemonic index of sorts” (De Alcantara, 1997: 60), and are used to recall or trigger
the specific experiences they have come to represent.
Directions integrate thought with action (Jones, 1976: 157), and can be described as
“messages from the brain to the muscles via the nerves” (De Alcantara, 1997: 62). To
learn to direct, is to “establish, cultivate, and refine the connections between what you
think and what you do” (De Alcantara, 1997: 56). As every thought manifests itself as
a physical reality, and every physical act is the result of a command from the brain, no
act can be said to be purely physical or mental: “brain and muscle” are always
connected (De Alcantara, 1997: 55). Electrical activity has been recorded in the
relevant muscles in response merely to thinking about an activity, showing the close
connection between the body and mind (Barlow, 1973: 122). Thinking, or directing,
can therefore be defined as the act of influencing the psychophysical system through
clear thought (Dawley, 2001: 8). While some thoughts cause a downward pull, muscle
tension and tight joints, other thoughts result in physical release and lightness
(Dawley, 2001: 3). “Correct thinking always leads to correct acting, and correct acting
always ensues from correct thinking” (De Alcantara, 1997: 13).
58
Directing differs from ordinary thinking in that it has a quality of “insistent, repeated
thought” (De Alcantara, 1997: 59), which involves the linking together of “a mental
command, a tangible physical reality and a sensorial feedback” (De Alcantara, 1997:
60). This “triple linkage” of a thought with its resulting action and associated
feedback, is the defining feature of Alexandrian directing, as it is absent in ordinary
thought, positive thinking and visualization (De Alcantara, 1997: 60).
De Alcantara (1997: 60) stresses that directing in the Alexander Technique is not the
same as classical conditioning, as the words do not trigger a set reaction, but presents
a choice: “the quickening of the conscious mind brought about by directing and
required of it ensures that reactions remain choices rather than automatic reflexes”.
Directions are firstly used to break down automatic reactions by increasing an
awareness of them, so that those commands that are harmful and unnecessary can be
inhibited, along with the superfluous actions they entail (De Alcantara, 1997: 58).
Once the will has been set free “to intend, to choose, to decide” through eliminating
habitual, automatic responses, directing becomes an act of imagination and creativity,
combining “thought, sensation, movement, knowledge, perception, awareness” (De
Alcantara, 1997: 64).
In learning the Alexander Technique, a pupil may initially lose a measure of his or her
earlier efficiency and become overly conscious of every movement. Deliberate
discipline is required in order to cultivate the “carefree ease of good use” (De
Alcantara, 1997: 163). The Alexander procedures ideally should be applied
reflexively, “without the apparent help of the conscious mind and without stopping
the flow of movement to consider its mechanics” (De Alcantara, 1997: 164), but it
initially requires that one has to learn to do individual movements well for their own
sake. However, direction eventually does become automatic, and therefore more
efficient (De Alcantara, 1997: 58). In this way, Alexandrian directing effectively
solves the problem of increasing awareness while maintaining efficiency.
De Alcantara, 1997: 58:
The automation of Alexandrian commands is different in nature from that of commands learned haphazardly. A habit acquired with good direction remains accessible to the control of the will, so that it can always be re-examined, altered, or even discarded.
59
Directing cannot function without inhibition (Barlow, 1973: 191). A pupil first has to
learn not to end-gain before it becomes possible to pay attention to the directions,
which are the means necessary to achieve the end (De Alcantara, 1997: 56). The
stimulus to activity generally elicits preparatory tension in order to “get set” for
action, and “such an anticipatory pre-set usually triggers us off into far too much
effort when we initiate a movement” (Barlow, 1973: 201). One should therefore not
attempt to ‘do’ the new body-pattern, but simply project it to oneself, while inhibiting
the instinctive reaction that will merely bring the old, habitual response pattern into
play. Giving directions is a matter of thinking, not of actively attempting to ‘do’ the
directions by means of a muscular effort or control (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 35; 59).
By giving oneself enough time to respond to the directions without muscular effort, a
constructive change is allowed to take place in the body.
Misuse and inefficient functioning are mostly caused by a lack of inhibitory
directions. Directions are therefore often rather injunctions to stop doing a wrong
thing, such as contracting the spine, than to do something actively: “orders not to do
and to stop doing should normally take precedence over directions to do” (De
Alcantara, 1997: 57). While commands to excite as well as to inhibit action are
operative in everyone all the time, “learning to direct allows (one) to change this
balance of inhibition and excitation at will”, leading to increased self-awareness and
improved use (De Alcantara, 1997: 56).
3.3.7 Inhibition
Jones, 1973: 149, 150:
Alexander’s major discovery was not the “primary control” but the significance of inhibition in the intact organism. Inhibition is a positive, not a negative force. Some degree of inhibition is essential not only for a good life but for any life at all. Inhibition maintains the integrity of the responding organism so that a particular response can be carried out economically without involving inappropriate activity in unrelated parts….Inhibition is a physiological process which does not need to be conscious in order to operate. Bringing it up to the conscious level not only establishes an indirect control over antigravity responses but facilitates the learning of new habits and the unlearning of those that are old and unwanted.
None of the mechanisms of the Alexander Technique can function without inhibition
(Jones, 1973: 149). Alexander (1932: 45) emphasized that preventing “the
60
misdirection that leads to wrong use and functioning” is the most important factor in
dealing with harmful habits. The basic means for change lies in knowing how to stop,
i.e. refusing to give consent to habitual, subconscious reactions to the stimulus for
action (Jones, 1976: 83).
The mental conception of an act is followed by a mental process to decide whether to
give or withhold consent to act (cf Alexander, 1932: 43). As most people have no
reasoned conception of the direction that is necessary for satisfactory performance,
their directions are based on a habitual and instinctive use of themselves. This
instinctive direction tends to become more and more misdirected with time due to
faulty sensory awareness, exerting a harmful influence on one’s functioning
(Alexander, 1932: 44). Change only becomes possible when the process of inhibiting
and directing is brought onto a conscious level (Jones, 1973: 150).
Many reactions, including not responding at all, are possible when a stimulus is
presented for the first time. When a particular response is chosen and learned, and the
process “drops below the level of consciousness, a ‘set’ will be established linking the
stimulus with the response, which will then occur automatically whether it is
appropriate or not” (Jones, 1976: 150). It is only when this process remains conscious
that the original freedom of choice is not lost. As the set becomes ingrained, there is
less tonic activity in both the sensory and motor systems in response to the stimulus to
action. The result is “a habit which operates unconsciously (like an innate reflex) and
which is resistant to change” (Jones, 1976: 150). While the purpose of the set is to
make the reaction to the stimulus faster and automatic, it does not necessarily improve
the response, and it can become an interfering influence, especially in complex,
sequential activities (Jones, 1976: 178). This is particularly true when “concepts have
become linked to wrong, maladaptive experiences” (Jones, 1976: 102).
Dawley, 2001: 7:
Just thinking about an activity engages the muscles in a habitual pattern of action. This anticipatory engagement interferes with activity. We have to intercept the link between concept and activity so that something different can happen.
61
Even though a set can be triggered very quickly after the stimulus to action is given, it
is never immediate, and always “starts with a change of tonus or tensional balance in
the neck and trunk and spreads from there to the limbs” (Jones, 1976: 178). By
“stopping off”, or inhibiting the immediate reaction to the stimulus, it is possible to
prevent the postural set from imposing itself (Barlow, 1973: 207). Through inhibition,
the level of tonic activity in the nervous system is increased again, and as the
operation of the habit is brought to a conscious level, freedom to choose a suitable
response is restored (Jones, 1976: 150). “Inhibition, by eliminating the postural set,
allows a non-habitual response to be made” (Jones, 1976: 150).
Coghill (as cited in Jones, 1976: 61) pointed out that the total behaviour pattern,
involving the head, neck and back, included both “excitatory” and “inhibitory”
components, and that the successful functioning of specific reflexes depended on the
inhibitory factor. In response to a stimulus to move, inhibition allows the spine
sufficient time to lengthen, thereby activating the antigravity reflexes and adding to
the efficiency of the movement (Jones, 1976: 149).
Jones (1976: 151) submits the following hypotheses, based on his research, as being
“consistent with established principles of physiology and psychology”:
1. The reflex response of the organism to gravity is a fundamental feedback mechanism which integrates other reflex systems.
2. Under civilized conditions this mechanism is commonly interfered with by habitual, learned responses which disturb the tonic relation between head, neck, and trunk.
3. When this interference is perceived kinesthetically, it can be inhibited. By this means the antigravity response is facilitated and its integrative effect on the organism is restored. (Jones, 1976: 151.)
All partial patterns, such as the use of the arms or hands, are regulated by the total
pattern, or antigravity reflexes (De Alcantara, 1997: 46). “To eliminate a faulty partial
pattern it is necessary to co-ordinate the total pattern that activates and regulates the
partial one” (De Alcantara, 1997: 46). This has the effect of integrating all the reflex
systems and making the body more efficient (Jones, 1976: 151). Inhibition means not
to consent to a habitual reaction that causes a total or partial misuse of the self by
62
interfering with the reflex systems in the body, and it is the central point of the
Alexander Technique (De Alcantara, 1997: 47).
The key to the process of change is not to attempt to inhibit misuse directly, but to
inhibit end-gaining, the motivation that triggers misuse (De Alcantara, 1997: 49). In
response to the teacher’s instruction, a pupil needs to inhibit both his or her own
understanding of the action, and the eagerness to be right (De Alcantara, 1997: 49).
By paying attention to the teacher’s verbal and hands-on guidance, the pupil is
enabled to move in a more co-ordinated and balanced way. Through inhibiting end-
gaining, the pupil thus gains a new experience, in which the movement often “seems
to be doing itself” (De Alcantara, 1997: 49)1. This experience is reinforced through
repetition, variations in the verbal and manipulative instructions and, eventually, by
teacher and pupil taking turns to initiate the movement (De Alcantara, 1997: 48).
Barlow (1973: 193) describes end-gaining as “a reflex action which (tends) to bypass
the reasoning brain”. In end-gaining, a person reacts automatically on an input-output
basis, “so that activity is directed towards satisfying the input as soon as possible,
whether or not the habitual way of doing this is appropriate” (Barlow, 1973: 193). The
following diagram is based on a similar figure devised by Barlow (1973: 193) to
illustrate Alexander’s understanding of the stimulus/response psychology involved in
inhibiting end-gaining behaviour:
Diagram 1: stimulus inhibition action Input
Throughput
Output
reasoned direction On receiving a stimulus (the input), the immediate muscular response must be
inhibited, so that there can be adequate mental preparation (throughput) for the
succeeding activity (output) (Barlow, 1973: 198). Through projecting the reasoned
directions while inhibiting activity, it becomes possible to detect where unnecessary
tension is created in the body in anticipation of the movement. Inhibition therefore
does not imply passivity or unresponsiveness, but is seen merely as “a stage of 1 See 3.3.8.
63
preparatory choice in which the eventual muscular USE can be decided on” (Barlow,
1973: 194).
De Alcantara (1997: 50) reiterates that inhibition should always precede action, in
order to empty the pathways between mind and muscle of “the unchecked, automatic
flow of habitual messages”. When this is the case, “activity becomes free from
excessive tension, thereby appearing effortless to the doer and to the observer” (De
Alcantara, 1997: 51)1. When initially learning to inhibit, it takes more time to stop and
wait while projecting the mental directions, but with experience it becomes possible
to inhibit “in motion”, without unnecessary hesitation (De Alcantara, 1997: 54).
Inhibition is a process that not only precedes an act, but also continues during activity,
in order stop any tendency to faulty use that may manifest itself while the action is
carried out (De Alcantara, 1997: 53). Eventually, “coordinative, integrative thought”
will set in motion “co-ordinated, integrated activity” (De Alcantara, 1997: 54).
Inhibition is not only useful for changing habitual physical behaviour, but also for
mental and emotional states that invariably register kinaesthetically “as a change in
the level of muscle tone before a reaction in the autonomic system has begun” (Jones,
1973: 13). By inhibiting any further increase of tension, and allowing the muscles in
his neck and back to lengthen, Jones (1973: 14) found that he was able to stop the
autonomic manifestation of an emotion from building into an explosive force, so that
it “remained a potential for action but did not interfere with rational decision”. He
concludes that the “intimate connection between Alexandrian inhibition and postural
tonus” makes the Alexander Technique applicable to any learned response (Jones,
1976: 150).
While inhibition can bring about far-reaching and immensely rewarding change, it is
also difficult to learn, as to inhibit means to delay the instant gratification of a desire
(De Alcantara, 1997: 54). It requires self-denial to go against one’s instinctive desire
to react in a habitual way. “Alexandrian non-doing goes right against our long-
established wish to get results by doing something, and by being seen to do
something” (De Alcantara, 1997: 54).
1 See 3.3.8.
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3.3.8 The kinaesthetic effect
Jones, 1976: 161:
In the Alexander Technique when a student is inhibiting his habitual response and allowing his spine to lengthen and his head to move in the direction of greater freedom, any movement that he makes will register kinesthetically as pleasanter, more efficient, and more desirable than his habitual movement. In other words, he is immediately rewarded.
This kinaesthetic effect of lightness and ease is the hallmark of the Alexander
Technique (Jones, 1976: 5), and is reported by the great majority of people who have
had experience of the Technique (Jones, 1976: 127). Through guided movement, the
underlying feeling tone of a movement is changed (Jones, 1976: 2), resulting in a
kinaesthetic effect of lightness that “can be demonstrated for almost any activity
performed within the gravitational field” (Jones, 1976: 6). This sensory effect usually
lasts for hours or even days after a lesson, affecting all subsequent movement patterns
(Jones, 1976: 7). In contrast with the new experiences, reverting to habitual
movements will feel uncomfortable, further reinforcing the new use that is being
learned (Jones, 1976: 162).
However, the kinaesthetic effect of lightness does fade eventually, and a pupil will
fall back into his or her old habits if it is not renewed on a regular basis: “The
significance of the experience can be grasped only if it is followed up and used as a
device for self-examination and for initiating a programme of change” (Jones, 1976:
7). The kinaesthetic experience of good use that one initially obtains during the
lesson, becomes an aid to learning the Technique subsequently, and makes the process
much easier (Jones, 1976: 2).
As the neck is allowed to lengthen, the Alexander teacher establishes “a new dynamic
balance between the weight of head and the tonus of the muscles”, so that “the head
behaves like inertial system which can move or be moved freely in any direction
without a feeling of weight” (Jones, 1976: 5). For most people, the subsequent
movements register kinaesthetically as being easier, smoother and lighter, as well as
more pleasurable and effective (Jones, 1976: 5). When interference with the natural
workings of the primary control is prevented (De Alcantara, 1997: 34), movements
become more natural, and are not forced or artificially controlled. As it is free from
65
the excessive tension that may be present in habitual movement, this kind of “non-
doing” feels easy, unencumbered and effortless, as though the movement were “doing
itself” (De Alcantara, 1997: 51).
The purpose of Jones’s research was to identify the mechanism responsible for the
kinaesthetic effect of lightness. By using quantitative measures and control groups, he
was able “to construct an operational definition of the technique and suggest a
mechanism to account for the changes” (Jones, 1976: 4). He proved that this
subjective phenomenon (described in remarkably similar terms by impartial and
unrelated observers), could be recreated under controlled conditions (Jones, 1976:
136), and through a series of experiments involving multiple image photography, he
succeeded in identifying the objective physical conditions “that correspond to the
kinesthetic experiences of lightness, smoothness, and ease reported during the guided
movements” (Jones, 1976: 6).
In his experiments, the movement pattern always changed as soon as the head-neck
relationship was improved, decreasing the feeling of weight (Jones, 1976: 145). He
describes the structures involved in the efficiency of the head-neck mechanism in
great detail (cf Jones, 1976: 145+), including reference to stretch reflexes, and the
righting reflexes that “control the position of the head in space and in relation to rest
of body” (Jones, 1976: 144). While the stretch reflexes give the body its tendency to
lengthen from within, thereby adding strength and buoyancy to movement (Jones,
1976: 142), they “have no purpose or meaning in themselves, but are organized into
an integrated whole” by the righting reflexes (Jones, 1976: 144). When the righting
reflexes are functioning as they should, interference with the other reflex systems in
the body is prevented (Jones, 1976: 185).
Jones concludes that the sensory experience of “moving lightly and easily against
gravity” can be explained only in reference to the righting reflexes, which act as a
central mechanism to integrate the antigravity responses (Jones, 1976: 144). Although
the righting reflexes usually operate automatically and without conscious awareness,
the Technique enables one to gain “conscious control of the proprioceptive
component of the reflex mechanism” (Coghill, as cited in Jones, 1976: 62). As “a
66
better integration of reflex and voluntary elements in a response pattern” (Jones,
1976: 2) is obtained, movement becomes efficient, easy and light.
While the physical effects of the Alexander Technique are easier to describe and
measure, Jones (1976: 12) believes that the psychological effects, including more
mental and emotional control, are of greater importance. An increase in confidence
and competence, as well the pleasure that comes from using oneself optimally, may
be the greatest reward of the Technique. As a person’s sensory standard is restored,
psychophysical growth and improvement become possible (Jones, 1976: 42). This
allows for an increase in happiness, which Alexander (as cited in Jones, 1976: 42)
defined as “doing well something that interests you”. As success is an essential
prerequisite to happiness (Jones, 1976: 42), being able to do something that one had
struggled with before, in a more coordinated and easy way, can only increase
happiness and provide the self-motivation needed to change one’s use.
Jones, 1976: 163:
The technique is not a treatment; it is a discipline that, in order to be effective, has to be applied in the activities of daily life. The reward is an increase in competence and self-esteem and in the sensory satisfaction that accompanies self-knowledge and self-control.
3.3.9 Postural balance
A common misconception is that the Alexander technique is primarily concerned with
improving posture, but both Jones (1976) and De Alcantara (1997) are of the opinion
that the significant aspect of the Technique is not posture, but the movement pattern
itself. Jones (1976: 190) suggests that the Alexander Technique “is not concerned
with three dimensional but with four dimensional posture, in other words with
movement”. De Alcantara (1997: 13) refers to “postural behaviour”, an idea that
includes posture but goes beyond it to incorporate attitude and movement as well.
People often move and react in unbalanced ways that they are unable to recognize,
and as a result, become unable to achieve a balanced state of rest (Barlow, 1973: 66).
Faulty muscular tension patterns, which lead to an unbalanced resting-state, are
particularly obvious in the postures that are adopted when a person is not moving
(Barlow, 1973: 68). These distorted postures sometimes become a person’s norm, and
67
“feel so right that a properly balanced use of the body may feel unnatural” (Barlow,
1973: 67). However, making someone self-aware about postural faults is not a
solution, as it can lead to anxiety and an attempt to adopt a particular position. By
facilitating an easier, non-habitual movement pattern through using the Alexander
principle, posture itself inevitably improves (Jones, 1976: 191), as postural
homeostasis, i.e. “the steady state in which the body keeps itself balanced” (Barlow,
1973: 70), is restored.
Barlow, 1973: 70:
Postural homeostasis involves a most intricate and delicate interplay of muscular co-ordinations throughout the body, to bring the body close to a balanced state. The balance which results from this interplay is what the physicists call ‘a steady resting state’, and in a healthy person these muscular adjustments will mesh together to give a balanced whole…Work is being done to maintain balance around a central point of stillness. The central point is not fixed. Oscillation takes place around it, with smaller, or bigger swings. Balance can be achieved in all manner of ways – many of them markedly inefficient, with too big an oscillation away from the central resting point. Such oscillation is characteristic of all our muscular activities.
While posture is often mistakenly understood to be a static bodily position that is held
for some length of time, in reality there is no such thing as a right or fixed position -
the best position is the one that can be altered quickly and with ease in order to
respond to the continually changing demands of life (De Alcantara, 1997: 14). A
proper stance is therefore not a “mechanical achievement of stability”, (Scott, as cited
in De Alcantara, 1997: 110), but a dynamic balance from which it is possible to adapt
to changing circumstances without interfering with the integrity of the primary
control. Such a balanced stance is known in the Alexander Technique as a “position
of mechanical advantage” (Barlow, 1973: 202).
Stein (1999) describes good posture as “an upward flow and a downward flow”: the
torso flows up from the hip joints, while the legs flow downward. As the head leads
the spine into lengthening, the arms release out of the back, and the knees lead the
legs out of the hip joints, creating an expansive flow in the body. When the legs are
allowed to release away from the hips, the thighs and the lower back are freed, and the
feet become grounded in fully supported contact with the floor. “This sense of
grounding flows up the torso into the arms, neck, and shoulders and gives a greater
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sense of freedom to the upper body” (Stein, 1999). Support for the upper body in
activity therefore does not come from a static, fixed position, but “from a balanced
skeleton that is constantly rebalanced by muscles in flow” (Stein, 1999).
It is important to note that the “appropriate muscle activity for postural support is not
something we can do by simply trying harder”, as it involves reflex responses that
maintain good posture almost effortlessly when they are working optimally (STAT,
1993). The supporting reflexes are stimulated by the gravitational force of the body
through the feet to the ground, to which the body responds by lengthening up,
provided that there is no interference (Dawley, 2001: 9). Postural reflexes are
triggered more effectively when the tendency to hold tension in the feet is inhibited,
and the feet allowed to rest more easily on the floor (Stevens, 1996: 101). “The effects
of the supporting reactions in the legs…continue through the deep muscles of the
hips, shoulders, trunk and neck”, and these deep muscles have special fibres that do
not tire easily, unlike the outer layer of movement muscles (Stevens, 1996: 102).
Consequently, when the supporting reflexes function optimally, there is less activity
in the surface muscles and “less of a sense of effort or heaviness in the body”
(Stevens, 1996: 102).
The reflex support system functions largely automatically, and although it cannot be
sensed directly, it is the reflex that can most easily be interfered with (Stevens, 1996:
104). In order to compensate for the lack of balance in the body, the movement
muscles (especially the larger and longer muscles of the back) will contract, and
interference will consequently register as physical tension (Stevens, 1996: 103). The
balance of the head and the upward-lengthening spine are especially important to
ensure less interference with and optimal functioning of the supporting reflexes
(Stevens, 1996: 106).
Carrington, as cited in Stevens, 1996: 17:
Our human upright posture is a unique accomplishment…a most delicate balance, an equation of forces brought about by an interplay of the sensory and motor mechanisms, by which all muscular effort is practically eliminated. The unique quality of the whole performance lies in this reduction of effort.
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3.3.10 Attention and awareness
Although the benefits of the Alexander Technique are quite clear, what is not
guaranteed is “the extent of the trainability of any given person, and their willingness
to use what we can teach them” (Barlow, 1973: 217). In order to learn the Technique,
one has to be able to sustain attention for at least a certain amount of time (Jones,
1976: 162). Changing habitual behaviour requires commitment and a very detailed
attention to one’s use (Barlow, 1973. 203).
Barlow, 1973: 229:
It can never be a question of detecting faulty tension patterns once and for all, de-conditioning them by hypnosis and relaxation, and seeing them disappear. It is rather a matter of continually having to notice the tensions, in countless different situations, and gradually finding out the compensatory tensions, which, like layers of an onion, manifest themselves when succeeding layers have been stripped off.
Tension habits can only be unlearnt as they are noticed and dealt with at “each actual
moment of behavioural reaction” (Barlow, 1973: 130), and this implies a certain
amount of awareness and attention. Through increasing sensory awareness and
learning to inhibit and direct, a consciously structured pattern of use is created that
can eventually be applied to all activities. Awareness implies a unity of body and
mind, a sense of being in touch with oneself (Barlow, 1973: 208), which is
indispensable for learning to inhibit and direct one’s use. One becomes increasingly
aware of shifts of muscle tension that are “as delicate as the finest touch of the
violinist”, but as such directed thinking is initially fairly tenuous, “any fatigue or
lessening of attention can put an end to it” (Barlow, 1973: 225). This process of
critically sifting sensory feedback is an intrinsic part of all normal perception, to a
greater or lesser degree (Barlow, 1973: 225), but one’s ability to be attentive is
actively cultivated and increased through the Alexander Technique.
Barlow, 1973: 225:
We have usually taken it for granted that we can only use our minds in two deliberate ways – content thinking…and behaviour-control. But between content-thinking and overt behaviour there is another sphere of personal life, a vast world of existence to be managed by awareness and attention (although ‘managed’ is too forceful a term for the attentive living which is implied).
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An extended field of concentration arises from the relationship between awareness
and attention (Jones, 1976: 176). While awareness can be described as a “generalized
alertness to present events” (Jones, 1976: 174), attention means to be concentrated on
a particular aspect of this field (Jones, 1976: 176). The danger of concentration, as it
is commonly understood, is that it narrows the field of attention so that everything
other than the object of focus is excluded. De Alcantara (1997: 70) agrees that a mind
that is concentrated in this limited sense is not truly an attentive mind. By expanding
attention rather than narrowing it, one’s awareness becomes more widely inclusive, so
that it is possible to take in the key relationships in the body, the activity on which
attention is focused, and the surrounding environment (Jones, 1976: 176). Jones
(1976: 156) asserts that movement within this “expanded field of attention” is the
means whereby change is brought about in the Alexander Technique.
Awareness is vitally important in seeking to change behaviour and gain conscious
control over one’s use (Jones, 1976: 167): before one can make an informed,
constructive change, it is “essential to take in a situation as fully as possible” (Jones,
1976: 168). As most people don’t pay much attention to their kinaesthetic
impressions, they need to learn how to observe themselves in order to gain an
awareness of what is happening in their bodies.
Jones, 1976: 138:
The technique…extends the scope of self-observation a long way beyond the visual by organizing the kinesthetic sense on a conscious level. Once you can observe changing relationships between parts of the body and between the body and the environment in terms of levels of tension and relaxation, of lightness and heaviness, as well as of position and movement, you have opened new areas of the self to scientific exploration.
While one’s attention is usually either directed inward to oneself, or outward to the
environment, feedback from both the environment and the self is “being recorded in
the brain at one and the same time” (Jones, 1976: 177). Through expanding one’s
attention, it is possible to amalgamate the two fields, by integrating sensory
impressions from both the body and the environment around the head-neck-back
relationship as the centre of the field (Jones, 1976: 170). The attention is “focused in
such a way that when something in the environment is central, consciousness of the
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organism is not lost; and when the center is within the organism, consciousness of the
environment remains” (Jones, 1976: 171), so that “the interaction of the self and the
environment is perceived as an ongoing process” (Jones, 1976: 159).
Jones, 1976: 177:
When the two fields are integrated in this way, the stimulus pattern and the response pattern can be recorded within the same spotlight of attention so that cause-and-effect relations between them can be perceived.
Hence it becomes possible to examine subtle tensional changes that occur within
oneself as one interacts with the environment, for instance in reaching for a pencil, or
in using a walking stick or a bow as an extension of one’s arm. The “sensations of
muscular tension, heaviness, stiffness and their opposites” that are generated in
response to the environment are not chaotic or meaningless (Jones, 1976: 177), and
becoming aware of the central pattern of stimulus and response within them provides
a key for change.
The expanded field of awareness also provides a solution for co-ordinating complex
activity. As the “true meaning of co-ordination lies in harmoniously integrating
however many factors any situation may require”, eliminating or separating certain
factors within the activity does not solve the problem (De Alcantara, 1997: 69). Co-
ordination in complex activity can only be achieved through expanding one’s
attention to take in all possible aspects of such activity.
3.3.11 Control and freedom
“Constructive conscious control” (Alexander, 1923) does not imply a mechanistic,
manipulative control of oneself. Movements are not improved through controlling
them directly, as this results in an unnatural, contrived quality, which is the exact
opposite of that which the Alexander Technique aims for (De Alcantara, 1997: 35).
“For your movements to become truly natural, you must give up whatever control you
have of them. The very idea of controlling is a hindrance to changing your use” (De
Alcantara, 1997: 35). Control is not a plane to be reached through increased effort, but
is obtained as a result of eliminating specific faults and interferences (De Alcantara,
1997: 35).
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De Alcantara, 1997: 73:
People often feel that failure comes from not trying hard enough, and follow failure with a greater determination to succeed and a corresponding increase in their misuse…‘Try again, this time with less tension’ is a directive we all hear and give freely. If the intention and the desire behind an unsuccessful gesture remains the same, the gesture itself will remain unsuccessful, regardless of the amount of tension involved. A better directive, then, is ‘don’t try again; do something else altogether’.
De Alcantara (1997: 72) gives four separate but interrelated factors that are required
in order to achieve truly free actions: “giving up trying, giving up judging, ridding
yourself of hesitation and eagerness, and timing your actions precisely.” The
tendencies of trying to be right and judging one’s efforts, reinforce end-gaining
behaviour and lead to either eagerness or hesitation, which is a characteristic of
inefficient behaviour (De Alcantara, 1997: 75). In order to eliminate hesitation and
over-eagerness, the onset of one’s actions has to be timed very accurately, their
outcome not anticipated, and judgements of right and wrong suspended in order to
gain true objectivity (De Alcantara, 1997: 77).
Inhibition should not be confused with hesitation: while the main purpose of
inhibition is to give one an opportunity to make a choice as to how to act, once the
decision to act has been taken, one should act immediately without regard to the end-
result (De Alcantara, 1997: 77). This encourages involuntary reactions to take place,
bypassing habitual patterns of behaviour and allowing the reflex systems of the body
to operate without interference.
De Alcantara, 1996: 77:
‘Conscious guidance and control’, in Alexander’s expression, does not entail your wilfully controlling every aspect of your every action. Good use and self-awareness are not the result of all that you do, but rather of all that you stop doing. Rather than controlling action, think of allowing it to happen. Undo the misuses of your head, neck, and back, and much that is right, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable will follow of its own accord.
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3.4 Other considerations
The following section considers aspects of the Technique that were not covered
specifically in the foregoing account of the main principles of the Alexander
Technique, but that are relevant to the objectives of the research.
3.4.1 Teaching
Alexander would not allow the students on his teacher-training course to graduate and
teach the Technique to others until their own use had reached a satisfactory standard
(Jones, 1976: 50), which they would be able to maintain under the demands of
teaching. Teachers can only impart sensory information regarding good use to the
same degree that they themselves possess, and “have to obey their own educational
demands if they are to influence their pupils” (Barlow, 1973: 203) in any constructive
way. By reliably applying the principles of the Technique to themselves, Alexander
teachers “have a quality of muscle tone in their body that allows them to transmit the
same possibilities to the muscles of the student” (Stevens, 1996: 52).
Jones, 1976: 153:
You can’t teach someone else an improved use of himself until your own manner of use has improved. The technique deals with change and development. Before he can impart what he knows to others, a teacher must have experienced in himself enough change to understand the process operationally.
An Alexander Technique lesson is an individual, one-to-one interaction (Barlow,
1973: 189), requiring detailed attention and awareness from both the teacher and the
pupil. “A detached form of teaching which relies on a pedagogic, professorial,
didactic attitude, is simply not possible” (Barlow, 1973: 203). The teacher forms a
partnership with the pupil, with the aim of guiding the pupil to self-discovery (Jones,
1976: 153). An authoritarian approach, in which a teacher attempts to use his or her
knowledge to obtain power over a pupil, would undermine the pupil’s capacity to
observe and trust his or her own perceptions, thereby negating the purpose of the
lesson, which is to increase sensory awareness.
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Stevens, 1996: 53:
This is a gentle, delicate process involving non-judgemental awareness on the part of both teacher and student, combined with great attention being paid to what is actually happening. This very accurate observation and clear diagnosis, together with positive and practical help in the solution of difficulties, is the hallmark of good teaching.
A teacher’s aim should never be to make a pupil dependent, but rather to enable the
pupil to become “his own expert in the use of himself”, through learning to translate
observations into kinaesthetic terms and applying this new knowledge to solve
particular problems (Jones, 1976: 153). “The principle of inhibition and primary
control existed before Alexander discovered it”, and unless a pupil rediscovers it
again for him- or herself, lessons ultimately are wasted (Jones, 1976: 154). The
process is greatly facilitated by the teacher’s guidance, however, as misconceptions
that can slow down progress can be avoided through the teacher’s insight and
knowledge, born of his or her own experience of learning the Technique (Jones, 1976:
153).
Procedures that lead to self-consciousness and anxiety in a pupil are
counterproductive, slowing down the learning process by interfering with the pupil’s
awareness and attention. Making a pupil aware of specific faults is not useful, as the
information will not mean anything to him if the specific faults are not perceived
kinaesthetically (Jones, 1976: 154). Apart from feeling self-conscious and possibly
anxious, a pupil can be tempted to try to correct the fault instead of remaining
attentive, thereby reinforcing end-gaining behaviour. Likewise, tests “set the wrong
tone by stressing specific ends rather than means” (Jones, 1976: 154).
Alexander (as cited in Jones, 1976: 41) decries end-gaining systems of education, in
which failure elicits strong emotional reactions and anxiety: every time a pupil tries
unsuccessfully to do something, not only are the old, wrong psychophysical habits
(that are associated with his or her misconception of the act) reinforced, but “new
emotional experiences of discouragement, worry, fear, and anxiety” are also added.
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Alexander, as cited in Jones, 1976: 41:
Learning to these students means doing ‘correctly’ whatever the teacher insists on having done. The imperfectly coordinated student, however, cannot do anything ‘correctly’ at the start; he is bound to have failures no matter how hard he tries…If a means-whereby principle were used in teaching…the pupil would not be asked to perform an act until he was in such a state of coordination that he could perform it easily. An occasional failure would not then be charged with any emotion but would merely add to the pupil’s knowledge of his own responses.
Jones (1976: 162) believes that even praise from a teacher can interfere with learning,
as the pupil “is apt to attribute praise to something he did rather than what he did not
do, so that the wrong aspect of the response is being reinforced”. In the Alexander
Technique, the reward is built into the experience itself, as one learns to respond in a
new way to stimuli. The Technique is strongly reinforcing and intrinsically rewarding,
and promotes self-motivation to change habitual behaviour (Jones, 1976: 162).
3.4.2 Words
Information regarding a pupil’s co-ordination is communicated both verbally and non-
verbally, through the use of touch and guided movement (Madden, 2002). Jones
(1976: 167) considers the non-verbal instruction in guided movement to be the more
important aspect of the Technique, as “any form of strictly verbal communication is
imperfect at best”. Words cannot convey sensory information adequately, whereas the
redistribution of tension following a guided movement “can frequently be grasped
without explanation, as a fact of experience” (Jones, 1976: 167). However, once
words have become linked to the pupil’s and teacher’s shared experience, they can be
used effectively as a “carefully worked out set of verbal directions” (Jones, 1976:
167) for the pupil to follow, in order to inhibit habitual reactions and obtain improved
use.
Students are taught to use their thinking in order to improve their use in everyday- and
skilled activity. The thought- and movement patterns inherent in the habitual
behaviour, as well as that which is required for improved use, are analysed in order to
work out a practical plan to “maximize (the) overall coordination for the chosen
activity” (Madden, 2002). The plan is then carried out through a “subtle but powerful
coordination of thinking and moving” (Madden, 2002). The choice of words that are
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used in this process is of the utmost importance, and has a profound effect on co-
ordination. Language reveals thinking, as “what we think expresses itself physically
in exactly the way we are thinking it” (Madden, 2002).
Words are inevitably interpreted according to each person’s individual perception and
experience, and are distorted due to faulty sensory awareness (De Alcantara, 1997:
44). They also have connotations from earlier experiences that may result in a
misconception of the required direction (Jones, 1976: 158). As different people
interpret language and images differently, it is essential “to continue observing the
effects of language and to tailor the language individually when necessary” (Madden,
2002). One’s response to words includes a kinaesthetic component that is observable
to someone who has been trained to pay attention to these slight muscle-shifts of
tension in the body. Jones (1976: 172) suggests that these stimulus-words can be
identified by the disruptive effect they have on the reflex pattern, and even classified
according to the amount of reflex disturbance that they create within the body. It is
clear that words and language-use can have a profound effect on the optimal
functioning of the body, and should be used judiciously.
For instance, the phrase “working hard” is often interpreted literally, especially by
young children, resulting in a tightening of the muscles in order to create work.
Although they might look as though they are working hard, in reality they aren’t
working well: “they tighten unnecessarily, losing both physical balance and clarity of
thought” (Madden, 2002). Madden (2002) suggests that the phrase “working
appropriately” would be more desirable. Muscular interpretations of requests that are
not muscular in nature also lead to misuse, such as when a need for concentration
results in the tightening of the eyes and face (Madden, 2002).
Imitating poor models often causes faulty images of anatomy, but inadequate
terminology can also create misconceptions as to how muscles and limbs work. In
order to obtain better use, it is essential to find terminology that is anatomically more
correct, as “anatomical mis-mapping creates interference in the human systems”,
leading to excessive work (Madden, 2002). While no one can control how a student
might interpret what is said, describing a movement as accurately as possible can
minimize misunderstanding (Madden, 2002).
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Madden, 2002:
If we wish to communicate most clearly in the teaching of coordination, it is worth the effort to be anatomically accurate in our choices of language. If metaphors are used or thought processes asked for, they must be understood as metaphor and thought by the students. Our students work diligently to carry out what we ask them to do; we serve them best by making our requests as accurate as we can.
3.5 Conclusion
The Alexander Technique “reconditions and re-educates the reflex mechanisms and
brings their habits into normal relation with the functioning of the organism as a
whole” (Coghill, as cited in Stevens, 1976: 16). Motor function is improved through
the integration of the voluntary and reflex components of a movement, “in such a way
that the voluntary does not interfere with the reflex and the reflex facilitates the
voluntary” (Jones, as cited in Thompson, 1988: 41). As one is enabled to move in a
non-habitual and easier way, posture inevitably changes, thereby reducing specific
faults and registering kinaesthetically as more efficient, pleasant and desirable (Jones,
1976: 191).
All activities are potentially more effective when the relationship between the head
and the body is optimal, as motor performance is made more difficult once the head
and neck are tightened. Eliminating the interferences in co-ordination that cause
unnecessary tightening enables one to improve one’s use, in a “subtle but powerful
co-ordination of thinking and moving” (Madden, 2002).
Madden, 2002:
The Alexander Technique is an ideal tool for investigating how to accomplish any activity with efficiency. It assumes that human beings are well made and that interference in our coordination, such as excessive work, causes us to function at less than our optimal ability.
While the Alexander Technique deals with a general and basic use of the body, it has
many specific applications, as the procedure of dealing with everyday movements can
also be applied to skilled performance (Jones, 1976: 135). Proponents of the
Technique are found in a very diverse field of disciplines, ranging from equestrian-
and other sport, to dance and drama. According to Jones (1976: 185), musicians have
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been “unusually quick” to respond to and apply the method, possibly because
“musicians as a class are keenly aware of the kinaesthetic side of experience”. In all
skilled activity, the self is the instrument through which the performer expresses him-
or herself; therefore, “a knowledge of how to direct consciously the use of the psycho-
physical mechanisms of the self” (Alexander, 1932: iv) can be very valuable for
improving performance in various disciplines.
3.5.1 Framework of key concepts
With the preceding literature study of the Alexander Technique providing a more
comprehensive background, the fundamental concepts of the Technique can be
summarized in a framework, which will be used as a measuring tool in the following
chapters, in order to identify possible parallels between the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique. It is important to note that this framework is meaningless
outside of the context of the literature study: although it is not possible to convey the
full meaning of the Technique through words, the rich descriptions in the literature
study seek to provide a context within which each concept can be delineated, in order
to make such terminology useful for comparison.
The main concepts of the Technique can be summarized as follows:
1. The background
a. Use affects functioning
b. Primary control
c. Sensory awareness
2. The intervention
a. Guided movement
b. Inhibition
c. Directions
3. Improved use
a. The kinaesthetic effect
b. Postural balance
c. Control and freedom
d. The expanded field of attention
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The framework of key concepts is presented schematically in diagram 2. Such a
diagrammatic representation of the Technique is possibly even more limited than
verbal description. In reality, all the concepts are interrelated and mutually influential,
and any attempt to separate them is artificial at best. The diagram is useful, however,
to give an overview of the basic flow of events and concepts that characterise the
Alexander Technique.
The Alexander Principle that use affects functioning forms the foundation of the
Technique. Within the background of one’s use, primary control and sensory
awareness, which is continually operative in everyone at all times, the Alexander
Technique provides an intervention through guided movement, and learning to
inhibit and direct, with the aim of influencing such background. The improved use
that is brought about is characterised by the kinaesthetic effect of lightness and ease,
increased postural balance, an extended field of attention, and the experience of
control and freedom.
The primary control and sensory awareness are indivisible: any change in the primary
control will influence the level and quality of one’s sensory awareness. By the same
token, it is essential that sensory awareness be increased and rehabilitated, if a better
use of the primary control is to be learned. Both the head-neck relationship and the
degree of sensory awareness are irretrievably linked to one’s general use, which
determines the quality of one’s functioning.
The intervention through guided movement influences both the primary control and
sensory awareness, and one’s consequent use. Inhibition is essential in order to allow
the guided movement to take place, as well as to stop harmful behaviour. Directions
cannot function without inhibition, while many directions are inhibitory in nature.
The interrelatedness of the concepts addressed in the Alexander Technique, extends to
the results brought about by the intervention: as postural balance is restored,
movement will be more controlled and free, but only for as long as such movement
remains rooted in balance. The quality of this experience is characterised by a
kinaesthetic effect of lightness. The Technique brings about an extended field of
attention within which the balanced, free and light movements take place. At the same
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time, the extended field of attention ensures that the intervention continues throughout
the activity, so that inhibition and direction continually improve use and thereby
functioning, while simultaneously increasing sensory awareness.
3.5.2 Individual frames
All the concepts included in the Framework are individually outlined in the frames
that conclude this chapter on the Alexander Technique (tables 3.1 - 3.12). The main
points that were discussed in the preceding chapter (under related headings) are
summarised, in order to delineate the inherent meaning of each concept. While these
statements are by no means exhaustive, they do provide indicators that make the
terminology useful in the subsequent comparison of methods. Each concept is
provided with a code that will be used to identify ideas with conceptual resonance in
the New Approach. These codes are included in the charts directly underneath or next
to the concept that it refers to. A full list of codes as used in this study is provided in
appendix B.
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Diagram 2:
THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
FRAMEWORK OF KEY CONCEPTS
INTERVENTION
Guided movement
Inhibition
Directions
IMPROVED USE
Kinaesthetic effect
Postural balance
Control & freedom
Attention & awareness
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Table 3.1. Use
USE (U) - Use affects functioning; one should seek to change use, not functioning. - The term use includes one’s total response to stimuli. - Use can be brought under conscious control. - Man functions as a psychophysical whole. For optimal functioning, and in order to
solve problems, one has to attend to the use of the whole.
Misuse (U-m)
Causes of misuse:
• Misuse is a stress disorder, involving inappropriate tension in the body that interferes with a balanced resting state. It is also the inability to return to such a resting state. • Misuse refers to mal-distributed muscular tension patterns that manifest as anticipatory tension, or postural set. • Interference with the primary control, and the workings of the reflex systems in the body. • Excessive muscular effort. • Faulty preconceived ideas and mis-conceptions. • Faulty sensory appreciation and lack of sensory awareness.
Improved use (U-i) Effects of improved use:
• Use only improves as interference with the primary control is inhibited. • Use is improved through inhibiting interference with the natural reflex systems of the body. • Harmful habitual patterns are changed through changing the conditions that allow the habit to exist. • Freedom and balance of body and mind, which forms the basis of effective performance.
End-
gaining
(EG)
• End-gaining attitudes are the major cause of misuse. • End-gaining does not permit sensory feedback other than that related to the specific end. • End-gaining is the attempt to control and influence functioning directly, instead of paying attention to one’s use.
Means-
whereby
(MW)
• Use is improved through following a means-whereby principle, in which focus is placed on carefully reasoned out intermediate steps rather than on the end to be gained, or on instinctive habitual responses.
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Table 3.2. Primary control
PRIMARY CONTROL (PC) - The coordination of the head, neck and back, forms the central part of the total
locomotor pattern. - Refers to the righting reflexes, or postural reflexes, that integrate the other reflex
systems of the body, and operate without the need for conscious control. - The orientation of the head influences the organization of the whole organism. - The primary control functions below the level of consciousness, but one can learn
to use the primary control consciously, in more constructive way. - When the primary control is properly directed, the other uses of the body function
as they should.
Misuse (PC-m) Causes:
• Misuse of the head and neck is always reflected as misuse elsewhere in the body. The causes for misuse of the PC are largely the same as for general misuse: • faulty preconceived ideas • faulty sensory appreciation • lack of sensory awareness • harmful habitual patterns • end-gaining Specific causes for misuse of the PC include: • Thoughts that cause a physical pulling down. • The cumulative effects of stress, tension, injury and fatigue. • Emotional states such as fear and anxiety. • Interferences with pos-tural balance; not returning to a balanced resting state. • Bad postural habits. • Any activity that inter-feres with the primary control, such as the distorting influence of the shoulders and upper-arms.
Improved use (PC-i) Ways of improving the PC: Effects of improved use:
• The spine lengthens upward with the head balancing freely on top of the spinal column, while the back lengthens and widens, and the shoulders broaden. • Depends on the reliability of sensory awareness; conversely, improved use of the primary control brings about improved sensory awareness. • Many different ways, including the hands-on guidance of a teacher; any activity that stops interference with the head-neck relationship. • Inhibition of inappropriate tensions that cause a pulling down. • Stopping the head from contracting into the spine. • Activities should (1) ideally prevent interference
with the primary control, (2) enhance its functioning, and (3) never cause interference with
the primary control. • Muscular harmony throughout the body. • Relatively simple control over the complex human organism. • An integrating effect on the coordination of the body as a whole. • The body’s innate reflex systems are restored to operate effectively. • A kinaesthetic effect of lightness, ease and efficiency in all subsequent movement.
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Table 3.3. Sensory awareness
SENSORY AWARENESS (SA) - Reliability of sensory awareness depends on freedom from unnecessary tension in
the body. - Sensory awareness operates continually on a subconscious and automatic level,
but it is possible to increase conscious awareness of kinaesthetic feedback. - Sensory awareness links conception to experience. - Proprioception is the kinaesthetic feedback from muscles, tendons, and joints, and
it is concerned with all aspects of muscular activity.
Unreliability of Sensory Awareness (SA-u) Causes:
• Untrustworthy sensory awareness complicates re-education and the learning of a new skill or activity. • Misuse of the self: mal-distributed tension pat-terns in the body. • Interference with the primary control; tension in the neck muscles.
Lack of Sensory Awareness (SA-l)
• Most people do not pay much attention to sensory feedback. • People are apt to trust the feedback from their other senses, rather than critically examine feelings of tension and weight in their movements.
Improved Sensory Awareness (SA-i) Effects:
• Sensory awareness is improved through improving the use of the primary control. • Sensory awareness is improved through the direct experience of a new sensory experience, brought about through touch and guided movement, as words are not enough to convey sensory information. • Improved sensory awareness provides a background of feeling-tone against which misuse can be identified and inhibited. • A greater awareness of tensional reactions and patterns in the body (both in response to a particular activity and in response to the environment) is created, making it possible to inhibit them.
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Table 3.4. Guided movement
GUIDED MOVEMENT (GM) - Kinaesthetic information is communicated directly through touch and guided
movement. - The amount of kinaesthetic information conveyed, is in indirect proportion to the
force used in conveying it. - Detailed attention to the kinaesthetic feedback during guided movement is
required, on the part of both teacher and pupil.
Guide (GM-h) Touch (GM–t) The hands are
used to: • guide and support the pupil through the movement that is required. • actively prevent the contraction of the head into the neck. • soothe, reassure and help release excessive tension.
• convey kinaesthetic information. • obtain sensory feedback from a pupil’s muscles so that the teacher can give better guidance. • increase sensory awareness in a pupil, by stimulating the nerve receptors through touch.
Effect of the guided movement:
• The feeling tone of a movement is changed, as the pupil inhibits his own reaction and allows the teacher to initiate the movement. • The pupil is given a direct kinaesthetic experience of the improved use that is desired.
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Table 3.5. Inhibition
INHIBITION (I) - Change in habitual patterns is only possible when inhibition and direction are
brought onto a conscious level. - Inhibition intercepts the link between concept and activity, in order to allow for
new experiences. - Inhibition means refusing to give consent to habitual, subconscious reactions to
the stimulus for action; i.e. stopping a postural set from imposing itself on the activity, so that reasoned directions for satisfactory use can be projected.
- Inhibiting interference in the PC in response to the stimulus for action is essential for obtaining satisfactory use.
- Inhibition initially takes time, in order to stop and clear the pathways between mind and muscle of the automatic flow of messages, and to project reasoned directions before activity.
- Inhibition requires minutely detailed attention to kinaesthetic feedback, in order to recognize the harmful tensional patterns that need to be inhibited.
- Inhibition precedes an act, but also continues during activity, in order to stop any tendency to faulty use during the activity.
End-gaining (EG)
• End-gaining, the motivation that triggers misuse, must be inhibited. • End-gaining is a reflex action that tends to bypass the reasoning brain in order to satisfy the stimulus to action as soon as possible, whether the habitual way of responding is appropriate or not. • It is an eagerness to be right. • End-gaining is the instant gratification of the desire to act.
Effects of inhibition
• Inhibition stops habitual reactions that interfere with the reflex systems of the body, so that activity becomes free of excessive tension, appearing to be effortless. • The successful functioning of specific reflexes depends on inhibition, which gives the spine time to lengthen, activating the anti-gravity reflexes and leading to more efficient movement. • Good use and self-awareness are the result not of what one does, but of what one stops doing. By inhibiting misuse and interference with the primary control, use improves and becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Means whereby (MW)
• Inhibition, with reasoned direction, is the means whereby change is brought about in the Alexander Technique.
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Table 3.6. Directions
DIRECTIONS (D) - Directions are thinking in activity. - It is a verbal pattern that has been linked to the new use, which enables a pupil to
recreate the co-ordinative processes required for such movement. - Directions are concerned with the spatial orientation that exists within each
position: it is an ordered sequence of words containing both spatial and temporal co-ordinates.
- Directions are words that have been linked to kinaesthetic experience, and are used as an aid to organize such kinaesthetic experience.
- Directions present a standard of use according to which the body is scanned, in order to detect the development of excessive and unnecessary tension.
- The ability to sustain attention to sensory feedback is of crucial importance in learning to direct one’s use.
Psycho-physical whole (D-w)
• Directions are used in order to integrate thought with action: to establish, cultivate and refine connections be-tween thought and action. • Correct thinking always leads to correct acting, and correct acting flows from correct thinking. • Directions are a matter of thinking, not of muscular doing; the projected move-ment pattern is allowed to unfold naturally, as though the movement were doing itself.
Qualifying features (D-q)
• The triple linkage of a thought, its resulting action and the associated sensory feedback is unique to directing, as opposed to ordinary thought. • The syntax to directing = the desired action + the particular body part + the required orientation in space. • Directions can eventually be reduced to a shortened phrase or single word that contains a depth of experiential meaning. • Direction has a quality of insistent, repeated thought. • Directing becomes natural only after painstaking process; it requires deliberate dis-cipline to learn to do individual movements well for their own sake, before the carefree ease of good use is possible. • Direction leads to freedom of choice, not automatic reflexes as in classical conditioning. Even though directing eventually does become more automatic and therefore more efficient, habits that are consciously acquired with good direction remain accessible to conscious control.
Direction and inhibition (D-I)
• Direction cannot function without inhibition: the wrong response first has to be stopped before the directions for improved use can be projected. • Directions are often inhibitory: to stop doing the wrong thing, and to inhibit the instinctive reaction linked to old, habitual response patterns. • Once habitual and automatic responses have been eliminated, directing becomes an act of creativity, combining thought, sensation, movement, knowledge, perception and awareness.
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Table 3.7. The kinaesthetic effect
Table 3.8. Postural balance
POSTURAL BALANCE (PB) - A steady resting state derives from the intricate and delicate interplay of muscular co-
ordinations throughout the body, to bring the body close to a balanced state. - Muscular adjustments to maintain balance around a central point of stillness,
interlock to give a balanced whole. - Faulty muscular tension patterns and unbalanced ways of moving lead to an
unbalanced resting state. - There is no such thing as a right or fixed position - the best position is one that can be
altered quickly and with ease in order to respond to the continually changing demands of life.
- The position of mechanical advantage is a position of dynamic balance, from which it is possible to adapt to changing circumstances without interfering with the integrity of the primary control.
The postural reflexes (R)
• are stimulated by the gravitational force of the body through the feet to the ground, to which the body responds by lengthening up, as long as there is no interference. • function largely automatically. • cannot be sensed directly. • It is the reflex system that can most easily be interfered with. • The balance of the head and the upward-lengthening spine are especially important to ensure less interference with and optimal functioning of the supporting reflexes.
Conclusion:
• Man’s upright posture is a delicate balance, an equation of forces brought about by the interplay of the sensory and motor mechanisms, by which all muscular effort is practically eliminated.
KINAESTHETIC EFFECT (KE) - The kinaesthetic effect of lightness and ease is the hallmark of the Alexander
Technique. - The righting reflexes are the mechanism responsible for the kinaesthetic effect: when
they are operating effectively as a result of inhibition, interference with the other reflex systems in the body is prevented.
- Movements feel easier, unencumbered, effortless, more efficient and desirable, as habitual tensions and interference with the natural workings of the primary control are eliminated.
- The sense of pleasure in movement, when using oneself optimally, is strongly reinforcing and self-motivating.
- The sensory satisfaction that accompanies self-knowledge and self-control brings about an increase in competence and self-esteem.
- The kinaesthetic effect does fade eventually, and needs to be renewed on a regular basis.
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Table 3.9. Attention and awareness
ATTENTION AND AWARENESS (A) - Attention is an essential prerequisite in all aspects of the Alexander Technique. - The Technique requires a very detailed attention to one’s use, in order to recognize
and unlearn tension habits at each actual moment of behavioural reaction. - The Technique involves the critically examination of sensory feedback, and requires
attention to very delicate shifts of muscle tension. - In order to gain an awareness of what is happening in one’s body, it is necessary to
learn to observe oneself and to pay attention to kinaesthetic feedback. - Learning the Technique depends on a degree of unity between mind and body, and
this mind-body unity is also increased significantly through practising the Technique.
Extended field of awareness (A-e)
• Attention is expanded rather than narrowed, in order to take in a situation as fully as possible, so that one can make an informed decision in making a change. • Extended awareness incorporates sensory feedback with reference to the key relationships in the body, thereby organizing kinaesthetic impressions into an intelligible system on a conscious level. • Expanding awareness to integrate sensory impressions from both the body and the environment allows the two fields to merge, so that the central pattern of stimulus and response can be perceived, thereby providing a key for changing habitual reactions. • The co-ordination of complex activity can only be achieved through extending one’s awareness to take in all possible aspects of such activity.
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Table 3.10. Control and freedom
CONTROL AND FREEDOM (CF) - Movements only become truly natural and free through giving up habitual control
over them. - Constructive conscious control does not imply a mechanistic, manipulative control
of movement – this merely results in an unnatural, contrived quality of movement, the direct opposite of what the Alexander Technique aims for.
- Control is obtained as a result of eliminating specific faults and interferences; it is not a plane to be reached through increased effort.
Prerequisites (CF-p)
• One has to give up trying and judging, which leads to and reinforces end-gaining behaviour. • Eliminating hesitation and eagerness, which are characteristic of inefficient behaviour and end-gaining, is a prerequisite for control and freedom. • Actions must be timed precisely: while inhibition is necessary in order to give enough time to decide on a course of action, one should act immediately without regard to the consequence once a reasoned decision to act has been made. This encourages involuntary reactions to take place, bypassing habitual reactions and allowing the reflex systems of the body to operate without interference. • Good use is the result of that which one stops doing, not of what one does. • Rather than controlling action, one should think of allowing it to happen.
Conclusion:
• By undoing the misuses of the head, neck and back, natural control and freedom of movement will follow of its own accord.
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Table 3.11. Teaching
TEACHING (T) - Teachers can only impart sensory information regarding good use to the same degree
that they themselves possess: it is the quality of muscle tone in a teacher’s body that allows him or her to transmit the same possibilities to the muscles of a student.
- The teacher forms a partnership with the pupil, with the aim of guiding the pupil to self-discovery and to enable the pupil to become an expert in the use of him- or herself.
- Alexandrian teaching is an individual, one-to-one interaction, requiring detailed, non-judgemental attention and awareness from both the teacher and the pupil.
Counter-productive procedures
(T-n)
• End-gaining systems of education, in which failure elicits strong emotional reactions and anxiety. • A pedagogic, didactic attitude and a harsh, judgemental and authoritarian approach. • Procedures that lead to self-consciousness and anxiety in a pupil, slowing down the learning process by interfering with the pupil’s awareness and attention.
Good teaching (T-g)
• Very accurate and clear observation and diagnosis, combined with positive and practical help in solving difficulties. • Following a means-whereby principle in teaching: not asking a pupil to perform an act until he or she is in such a state of coordination that it can be performed easily.
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Table 3.12. Words
WORDS (W) - Words cannot adequately convey sensory information unless they have been
linked to kinaesthetic experience. - Words can be used effectively as a carefully worked out set of verbal directions
for the pupil to follow, in order to inhibit habitual reactions and obtain improved use.
- The choice of words that are used in this process is of the utmost importance, as: o Words can have a profound effect on co-ordination o “Language reveals thinking; what we think expresses itself physically in
exactly the way we are thinking it” (Madden, 2002)
The danger in using words (W-n)
• Faulty sensory awareness and connotations from earlier experiences can cause misinterpretation and misconception of verbal instruction. • Words are inevitably interpreted according to each person’s individual perception and experience. • Words can be used in a ritualistic way in directing, thereby interfering with attention to sensory feedback. • Muscular interpretations of requests that are not muscular in nature, lead to misuse. • Inadequate terminology creates misconceptions as to how muscles and limbs work and leads to misuse: anatomical mis-mapping creates interference in the human system.
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Chapter 4
The New Approach to violin playing
4.1 Introduction
Hungarian born violinist and child prodigy Katό Havas developed ‘The New
Approach to violin playing’ in order to address and eliminate the tensions and
anxieties often present in violin performance. The tension-free and expressive playing
of the Hungarian gypsy violinists was the inspiration behind her method, and she
incorporates Kodály principles of inner hearing and the use of fundamental balances
in physical movement in her method, in order to facilitate the free and uninhibited
expression of the musical imagination.
The use of inside-to-outward energy impulses is an important feature of her method,
and relates especially to an organic rhythmic pulse that involves the whole body in a
relaxed, flexible interplay of motion. Instead of outside-in playing, which leads to
numerous interferences, her method teaches playing from the inside-out, fostering
creative and artistic self-expression through a beautiful singing tone, which is at all
times the goal of her teaching.
4.2 Background
In order to gain a thorough understanding of the New Approach and its application, it
is necessary to consider the background that led to its formulation.
4.2.1 Early influences
Havas was born in Hungary in 1920. She started violin lessons at the age of 5 and
gave her first professional recital at the age of 7. Shortly afterwards she commenced
her studies at the Liszt Férénc Academy in Budapest with Imre Waldbauer, who had
studied with Hubay, who in turn had been a student of Joachim (Havas, 1968: 2). She
credits Waldbauer with many of her ideas relating to the fundamental balances in the
stance and bowing movements (Havas, 1968: 70).
Waldbauer was an original thinker who moved away from a purely imitative school of
teaching and advanced ideas about the coordination of bowing technique that were
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considered to be revolutionary (Havas, 1968: 3). As a student of motion study,
Waldbauer was acquainted with the work of prominent scientists in that field
(McCullough, 1996). He emphasized that playing movements originate in the back
and that the movements of the smaller limbs are secondary (McCullough, 1996), an
idea that features strongly in Havas’s teaching.
Havas made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1937, at the age of 17. At this
stage she was also touring and performing extensively, to great critical acclaim. She
herself, however, felt that she had reached a dead-end and was not progressing.
Although she had no technical difficulties, she did not feel free enough to interpret the
music to her own satisfaction (Havas, 1968: 71). Practising more did not seem to help,
and neither did lessons with very well-known teachers, including Louis Persinger,
who praised her but did not seem to have any answers to her dilemma (Havas,
personal communication1, Oxford, July 2003).
Eugene Ormandy eventually introduced her to David Mendoza, a violinist and
conductor who had studied with Dounis, but who, “just like Waldbauer, was full of
his own ideas about violin playing” (Havas, 1968: 71). He understood her problems at
once, and was able to help her release the blockages to her creativity. Mendoza
specifically introduced Havas to the idea that the left hand finger action is controlled
from the base knuckles, and his ideas about the motion of the left hand fingers were
later incorporated into the New Approach. Mendoza made Havas aware of the further
possibilities of using physical balances in violin playing (Havas, 1968: 6).
Within a year of her debut at Carnegie Hall, Havas married an American writer, and
with three children, she eventually decided to leave her performing career in order to
raise her family. As she recounts in The violin and I, she was unable to compromise
by playing only a little: it had to be all or nothing (Havas, 1968: 4). It was during the
following 18 years of absence from the violin that she started to develop her ideas
around eliminating tension in violin playing, which eventually led to the birth of the
New Approach.
1 See interview transcript in appendix D.
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Not performing in public gave her the freedom and the distance required to think
clearly about the problems that seem to beset so many violinists (Havas, 1961: 2).
Remembering the playing of the gypsy fiddlers whose extreme virtuosity and
communicative tone quality she had admired in her youth, various details came to
mind: their “giving” left hand with a mobile left thumb, and the freedom of the left
elbow, not being pressed in against their bodies, as well as the freedom of the head, in
being able to come away from the chinrest while playing (Havas, 2001: 1).
Experimenting with these movements gave immediate release and improvement in
tone, and led to the formulation of many of the major principles of the New
Approach.
4.2.2 The Hungarian gypsy violinist
Havas, 1968:19:
I am certain that besides the teaching of Imre Waldbauer in Budapest and David Mendoza in New York, Csisco’s playing in Dömsöd had a great influence on the New Approach. I often wish he could have known what a big hand he had in the writing of my first book.
Csicso was an elderly gypsy whom Havas had befriended and admired very much for
his total identification with and ability to communicate the essence of the music. She
says of his playing: “…without knowing it then, I witnessed the epitome of perfect
artistic communication” (Havas, 2002: 1). According to Havas (1973: 14), the gypsy
violinists play not so much on their instruments as through them: “…music comes
from the entire beings of these players. They use their particular instruments…only to
transmit their musical imagination and physical energy”. The ease with which they
handle the instrument from the beginning and the pleasure it gives them are palpable.
In contrast, the formally trained violinist is often acutely uncomfortable and
frequently suffers from playing-related injuries. Physical rigidity is in many instances
such an accepted fact that many players believe it to be an inevitable necessity.
Liszt (as cited in Havas, 1973: 13), who had also been fascinated with and deeply
influenced by the gypsies’ phenomenal artistry, expresses a similar view in a letter to
a friend:
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I almost envy you for having escaped from the civilized art of music making, with its limitations and crampings…you have done well not to engage in concert-room torture, and to disdain the empty, painful reputation of a thorough violinist. (Liszt, as cited in Havas, 1973: 13).
With their freedom and ease in playing, gypsies do not seem to suffer from stage
fright. This may partly be due to the fact that their primary interest is the pleasure of
their listeners. There is no social pressure to succeed through bettering their peers
(Havas, 1973: 12). While recognizing that cultural differences between the gypsies
and the conventional music world will inevitably remain, Havas sought to identify
key issues in the gypsies’ playing that could be assimilated into a more traditional
training.
A major factor in their power of communication seemed to be an organic, rhythmic
pulse, which involves the whole body, not only the arms and hands. Havas (1973: 14)
came to believe that this total interplay of motion and balance, through the rhythmic
pulse, can be a powerful tool in eliminating tension and blockages in performance. In
order to understand the nature of the organic rhythmic pulse, she differentiates
between natural movements that derive from the flexibility of the joints, and unnatural
movements, which are merely compensatory for stiffness in the legs and arms. Only
natural movements can give rise to the inside-outward energy impulses needed for the
freedom of musical self-expression.
Through these various influences Havas developed the New Approach, in which the
principal aim is “to eliminate both physical and mental obstacles so that through a
relaxed and controlled co-ordination, the player may be able to release the full force
of his musical imagination” (Havas, 1964: Introduction).
4.2.3 Controversy and debate
By 1958 Havas felt a tremendous urge to return to violin, originally with the idea to
perform again. However, she had also been experimenting with teaching a couple of
pupils, applying her ideas with encouraging results. The New Approach continued to
grow until, in 1959, Noel Hale, the Music Advisor for Reading, came across her
teaching (Havas, 1968: 6). A series of articles by Hale in The Strad in 1959,
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introducing the basic tenets of the New Approach, led to a fervent debate in the
publication over the next decade1.
The articles initially unleashed great controversy and negative reaction from those
who saw the New Approach as detracting from orthodox violin methods and training.
In the introduction to The twelve lesson course (1964), Havas counters this allegation:
…the technique I am expounding…is not to be regarded as some sudden mushroom discovery, totally new and revolutionary…Many of the most important elements are derived from the teachings of the great masters of the past…What I do claim is that these elements have been, through slow experience, integrated into a new form, a working system that may well have been touched upon accidentally and in part by others before me, but has not, to my knowledge, ever been formulated before….although many of the most important elements are derived from the teachings of great masters, the difference between this and the conventional methods begins in the very foundations. (Havas, 1964, Introduction.)
In response to incredulous detractors, a growing number of reports by violinists who
had found great benefit in applying the method appeared. These were articles written
by violin teachers and amateurs as well as professional violinists and soloists. Several
medical doctors wrote articles to endorse the New Approach in the light of Gestalt
theory and senso-motor study in its application to violin playing2.
Scott (as cited in Havas, 1968: 86) clarified the difference between the strength that is
found through balance as it is taught in the New Approach, and the mechanistic
quality of some schools of violin playing. After years of struggling with violin related
injuries, Scott found a teacher in Vienna, Theodore Pashkus, who believed the
instrument to be an extension of the body, and the body an extension of the musical
imagination.
1 As copies of The Strad before 1968 proved to be virtually unobtainable, many of the references from these articles have been taken from Havas’s book, The Violin and I (1968), which includes The Strad correspondence. See 4.2.4 and 4.5.1. 2 This subject will be dealt with in more detail in 4.5.1.
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Scott (as cited in Havas, 1968: 87) writes:
With Theodore Pashkus I learnt that the body is as much an instrument of the violinist’s art as it is of the dancer’s, actor’s or athlete’s. So it was with much delight that I encountered in Miss Havas’ (sic) book an extension of the same philosophy, and with further musical and personal enrichment that I met and studied with Miss Havas herself. (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 87.)
[This kind of report-back from people who have benefited from the New Approach
continues to this day in the KHANA (Kató Havas Association for the New Approach)
newsletters, as does debate around aspects of the method itself. Havas encourages the
continual refinement and development of ideas, and consequently some of the
exercises put forward in her books are applied in a different way today, although they
remain true to the ultimate aims of her teaching.]
The Strad debate culminated in a series of articles in 1969 and 1970 by Dr FA
Hellebrandt, a well-known biologist and writer, who had 40 years of experience in
experimental research in the field of physiology, biomechanics and motor learning at
the time of writing The Strad articles (Hellebrandt, 1969: 281). As an amateur
violinist, Hellebrandt had followed the controversial discussion in The Strad and
subsequently had lessons with Havas herself (Hellebrandt, 1969: 277). The purpose of
these articles was to present the biomechanical and neuro-physiological rationale of
Havas’s teaching devices (Hellebrandt, 1969: 277)1.
The intense interest that The Strad debate stimulated in the New Approach, catapulted
Havas into an international teaching career in a very short space of time. She was
invited to teach with Sandor Végh in Switzerland, but decided to remain in England
(Havas, 1968: 46). The invitation from Bosworth & Co. to write a book on the New
Approach, proved to be the end to her original idea of returning to a career of
performing combined with teaching (Havas, 1968: 17), and led to the eventual
publication of four books. The interest generated by the books and the demand for
personal tuition grew to such an extent that Havas decided to devote all her energy
and time to teaching.
1 See 4.5.2 for a more detailed discussion of Dr Hellebrandt’s articles.
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4.2.4 Books
Her first book, A New Approach to violin playing, was published in 1961. Initially the
physical aspect of playing the instrument was the main concern around which she
developed her method, as she encountered the same kinds of physical problems in all
her students, regardless of their age or level of playing (Havas, 2003: 1). This book
introduces all the fundamental physical balances of the New Approach, and all
aspects of violin technique are presented in relation to a search for a beautiful tone
(Havas, 1961: 4).
Havas, 1968: 18:
…as far as the New Approach is concerned, there is no such thing as ‘technique’ in the accepted sense. The whole concept is based on tone production and on the wherewithals of its organic motivation and natural transmission. If this is achieved, the so-called ‘technique’, no matter how complicated and seemingly wellnigh impossible becomes an inevitable follow-up.
Havas (1968: 23) received unexpected support from Yehudi Menuhin, who wrote an
unsolicited foreword for her first book, after a mutual friend showed him the
manuscript. In the light of the controversy around the New Approach at that time, it is
worth quoting at length.
Menuhin, 1961:
It is a sad comment on man’s perennial ignorance that the rare and the original are usually the obvious. Miss Havas is original in her approach to the violin playing because she insists that violin technique must be reducible to basic motions involving more than just the fingertips. I have long preached and proven that the very placing of the finger, including the vibrato, shifting and glissando, are all aspects of the same basic movement – that is why on the violin it is as difficult and as much evidence of control to draw one beautiful sound or to play a scale as it is to play a concerto…. It is also heartening and equally ‘original’ to find a kindred spirit who holds the whole body to be engaged, thus offering no focus of resistance anywhere – only support – and who realises that of all things – the state of continual balance, the equilibrium of all parts…is the object of all training.
Although Havas (1968: 35) had presented her ideas as concisely as possible in her
first book, it soon became apparent that those who were interested in the New
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Approach sought more detailed information. As a result, she wrote The twelve lesson
course (1964), a comprehensive pedagogical account of an intensive programme
designed to teach the fundamental balances concerning violin playing, and their
control and co-ordination from the mind (Havas, 1964: 2).
In 1968, The violin and I, an autobiographical account of Havas’s career and the
origins and development of the New Approach, followed, and it included the
controversial correspondence around the method that had appeared in The Strad up
until that time.
Havas (1968: 38) discovered that an additional result of the New Approach seemed to
be the alleviation of stage fright. Where many professional (and amateur) violinists
had previously suffered from debilitating anxiety in performance, with the release of
tensions through New Approach teachings they gained not only freedom from nerves,
but also a positive enjoyment of performing in public (Havas, 1973: xiii). This led her
to make a special study of the causes and effects leading to stage fright, eventually
culminating in the publication of the fourth book, Stage fright: its causes and cures, in
1973. Once again, she received affirmation from Yehudi Menuhin, whom she claims
to be among the first to recognize the physical, mental and spiritual truth of the New
Approach (Havas, 2000: 3).
Menuhin, 1974:
I would like to write you a second fan letter, as I believe I have already done so some years ago, to congratulate you on your book ‘Stage Fright’. It is the most realistic and practical approach imaginable. It stresses the real reasons and not the false ones, and gives in the most honest and lucid form the essential requirements of violin technique, violin playing and music making. It is a book that should be worth its weight in gold to every student and many a performer.
After a lifetime of dedicating herself to helping violinists realize their full musical
potential, Havas received the American String Teachers’ Association Award in 1992,
and in 2002 the Order of the British Empire (OBE), one of the highest honours
bestowed by the Queen in Britain, was presented to Havas for her services to music
(Havas, 2003: 1).
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4.3 The New Approach
Havas (1968: 86) calls her method a “New Approach”, as it is essentially in terms of
approach and application that she differs with orthodox teachers and methods, and not
in denying their achievements and insights. She gives a concise summary of her
method from this perspective, in A New Approach to violin playing (1961: 2):
It is not a question of teaching and imposing a certain dogma, but of making it possible for the student to ‘let it happen’. From the very first lesson, the student is trained how to differentiate between causes and effects. This New Approach, through the compelling logic of certain basic play actions, is based on the idea of balance, not of strength. There are no ‘mechanical’ finger exercises as we understand them. The aim of the exercises is not a strengthening process but an elimination, through finding the exact balance, of all conscious muscular action save one…so that the mind can be freed from the impossible task of concentrating on two or more things at once…properly developed, (this) is able to transmit and control the musical and artistic impulses of the player to such an extent that all mechanical problems disappear and there is nothing left for him to do but to give full vent to his imagination. (Havas, 1961: 2.) 4.3.1 A new perspective
The approach of traditional methods is usually to isolate individual movements and
develop them through extensive practise, in the hope that by putting them all together
again the desired result would be achieved. But the whole differs from the sum of its
parts (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477): instead of part motions fitting together in a finely
balanced complement, they can too easily become a collection of separate units, each
with its own academic merit, but “worthless collectively, since the characteristics of
the parts are not motivated by the requirements of the whole” (Wright, as cited in
Havas, 1968: 92).
Wright (as cited in Havas, 1968: 91), an eminent physician and amateur violinist,
elaborates on what he calls “these unenlightened methods of teaching”:
In the past violin playing has been overly engrossed with (a) the precise duplication by the pupil of those specific part function patterns approved by the teacher’s particular ‘school’ and (b) the interminable drills considered necessary to hammer them home. How many of us have suffered the seemingly everlasting gimmicks to ‘strengthen’ fingers, immobilize the shoulder and isolate the wrist, etc. This preoccupation with part function,
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totally ignored the inescapable physiological fact that mass movement is a characteristic of normal motor activity. (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 91.)
Havas’s approach is the complete antithesis to these more traditional methods, in
emphasising whole body function through the use of natural balances: each movement
is tracked to its biological source, allowing all actions eventually to become integrated
into a co-ordinated whole. Whitman (as cited in Havas, 1968: 96) describes these
fundamental balances as “a series of body weight adjustments of infinitely delicate
balances, similar to that modern invention, the Mobile, whose many components of
varying shapes move around with perfect ease within the pattern as a whole”. Wright
(as cited in Havas, 1968: 91) explains the efficacy of the New Approach in the light of
the motion gestalt, which has as its foundation the concept of optimal balance.
Hellebrandt (1970b: 473) is of the opinion that the biological roots of the physical act
of playing the violin “may well provide the key to a more adequately defensible
pedagogy than the one inherited from traditional schools replete with sacred dogmas”,
and also makes reference to gestalt theory in her evaluation of the New Approach.
These aspects will be discussed in more detail when considering the scientific base to
the New Approach in 4.5.
Movement, that has its basis in the natural physiological functioning of the body,
inevitably results in the release of tension and anxiety. Because physical tension is
often the cause of mental anxiety in playing, learning to release physical blockages
and using the body in a balanced way resolves anxiety in performance and leads to a
sense of well-being, both physically and mentally. In the words of Havas (1973: xiii)
herself: “These co-ordinated self-propelled physical actions naturally tend to evoke
great release in the emotional and mental responses”. The New Approach is
consequently a very effective tool in overcoming (and preventing) the debilitating
effects of stage fright, the ultimate stifling of artistic communication.
4.3.2 Stage fright: causes and cures
Havas (1973: 5) points out that stage fright is nothing more than an exaggerated
symptom of anxiety. Problems in violin playing are not really caused by technique as
such, but they originate in the mistaken idea that some kind of superimposed pressure
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or force is necessary (Havas, 1964: 2). This leads to faulty movements, which cause
an overall state of anxiety. “And the awful thing about anxiety is that, at the slightest
provocation, it can spread like wildfire, paralyzing the mind, crippling the body, until
everything seems unduly difficult and all artistic expression becomes nothing but a
monumental struggle” (Havas, 1964: 2).
The causes for anxiety seem to fall into three categories: physical, mental and social,
and are all interlinked and equally deep-seated (Havas, 1973: 16). According to
Havas, the cure lies in the following three steps, within the context of continual
training and development:
The first step is to clarify the causes of each aspect of anxiety within its own entity. The second step is to find the appropriate cures with the relevant exercises for each cause. The third and last step is to inter-relate all three of the causes and cures. Once this is achieved, stage fright will give way to a feeling of freedom and confidence. (Havas, 1973: 16.)
Understanding the origins and causes of the problems is essential in order to release
them, and the cure involves both physical and mental re-education. Attitudes to the
physical handling of the instrument need to be changed, as the root of most problems
concerning stage fright lies in forced and flawed physical actions (Havas, 1973: 127).
The concept of a violin hold and bow hold is systematically eliminated – allowing the
instrument to become an extension of the body - with no tension blockages in any of
the limbs or joints, but a reliance on what Havas calls the fundamental, motivating
balances for all movement.
Due to the close connection between the mind and the body, tension and anxiety in
violin playing can only be released through combining a positive, constructive mind-
set with this active physical balance (Havas, 1973: 16). Therefore, apart from the
release of physical tensions, the New Approach explores mental attitudes that can
trigger anxiety, such as the fear of not playing fast enough, the fear of memory lapse
and the power of words and the imagination either to inhibit or to liberate. The impact
of the competitive attitudes in society on performers is examined, especially relating
to the striving for success and the fear of not being good enough. False beliefs can
also cause anxiety. For instance, misleading information from the eyes can lead to a
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false perception of an abnormally long fingerboard or thick neck, causing tension and
anxiety, without any conscious awareness of this being so. In each instance, Havas
(1973) gives comprehensive and practical advice for eliminating the particular
anxiety.
Once physical and mental release from anxiety has been achieved, the final stage in
this process is to eliminate the self “by dissolving it into a free-flowing musical
communication” (Havas, 1973: 127).
Havas, 1973: 77:
The more a player learns to summon the power of the inner ear, the more he is able to forget about the extraneous part of his playing, such as his technique, his tone, the impression he makes on his listener, etc., until eventually he can forget about himself. And that is when real communication begins. For with the elimination of the self he is able to reach the very core of the music and through the interplay of co-ordinated balances is free to transmit it to the audience.
A central point of control, which has the power to co-ordinate not only the diverse
physical actions required, but also the workings of the mind (Havas, 1973: 81), is
essential if this free artistic communication is to take place. Havas (1973: 82) found
one of the deepest causes of stage fright to be the attempt to achieve the desired
musical effects through conscious physical efforts. Many musicians know that the
more one tries, the less success one seems to have, as “overcontrol” easily leads to
interference (Green & Gallwey, 1986: 9). The artist’s musical intent will be realized
without any conscious physical effort only if all the musical information and physical
movements can be unified in a single co-ordinated activity.
Havas, 1973: 81:
This central point of direction which has the power to create total co-ordination of mind and body, lies in the naming of the notes….the accumulated information relating to each note is aural, visual and tactile…(and) it is the name of the note which will synchronize all this information.
The naming of the note, in conjunction with the imagination of the inner ear and the
shaping of melody in the left hand finger action, is the key control once all the
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physical balances have been co-ordinated into a final whole (Havas, 1964: 68). This
aural-tactile connection, where the inner ear directs the left hand finger action, leads
to eventual spontaneous music making, the ultimate goal of Havas’s teaching. A mind
so concentrated on the music that there is no place for mental anxiety or interference,
together with a body in balance, free of tension and conscious physical control, can
finally give release from the tyranny of stage fright.
These features of the New Approach, briefly summarised in this discussion of stage
fright, will be examined in greater detail in the following section.
4.4 The method
Kenneson, a renowned cellist, pedagogue and author, writes in A cellist’s guide to the
New Approach (1974: 10):
(The) New Approach is not a ‘method’ in the general sense, but a meaningful organization of thought processes which focuses the mental concentration on a musical idea, the physical realization of that idea coming from a logically-conceived use of the body’s natural balances. (Kenneson, 1974: 10.)
Havas identified tendencies that are common to many players, in that they generally
result from the body’s physical response to touching the instrument, and arranged this
information along with solutions developed through the use of New Approach
principles (Kenneson, 1974: 11). Essentially an approach to tone production, the New
Approach teaches precepts that are often demonstrated by naturally gifted players,
such as Pablo Casals, who instinctively make use of natural physical balances while
their musicality predominates over technical demands (Kenneson, 1974: 10).
The most prominent features of the method are described in 4.4.1 to 4.4.7. This is a
summary of the most important concepts, and is not intended to give a comprehensive
and specific account of all the New Approach exercises and procedures, for which the
reader is referred to Havas’s own writings, especially The New Approach to violin
playing (1961), The twelve lesson course (1964) and Stage fright (1973).
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4.4.1 Easy or impossible
One of Havas’s favourite sayings is that “playing the violin is never difficult; it is
either easy or it is impossible” (Havas, 1973: 136). While all violinists desire to be
able to express themselves musically with ease and freedom, this seems to happen
only rarely and ostensibly by chance. The harder one tries, the more elusive this state
of bliss seems to be. This communicative ease is only possible through finding
movements that are self-propelled, as no amount of practise with tense, overworked
muscles can ever ensure complete freedom or assurance in performance (Whitman, as
cited in Havas, 1968: 96). Through the New Approach, the origins of inhibiting
tensions are first uncovered, followed by a step-by-step process whereby they are
eliminated. This allows for the development of natural coordinated movements based
on balance, not superimposed effort or force.
This approach is applied from the very beginning, as the basic problems are the same
for all violinists, whether beginner or advanced (Havas, 1964: Introduction). Havas
(1964: 12) likens playing the violin to tightrope walking, where “the right balances
must be controlled and coordinated from the very beginning, regardless of whether
the rope is stretched near the ground or high in the air”. Through learning balanced
movement and avoiding the use of force from the beginning, a violinist can have a
beautiful singing tone right from the start – it is a fallacy to believe that it is inevitable
for beginners to “screech” on the violin (Havas, 1964: 2). She does recommend,
however, that they should not practise on their own until the basic balances are well
established (Havas, 1964: Introduction).
4.4.2 Inside-outward playing
All aspects of the New Approach can be described in terms of inside-outward energy
impulses. This is the crux of the whole method, the ultimate aim of the approach
being to create conditions whereby true artistic communication can take place,
without physical or mental interferences. This inside-outward communication relates
especially to a rhythmic pulse that involves the whole body in a relaxed, flexible
interplay of motion (Havas, 1973: 14). Havas (1973: 19) believes that this “organic
rhythmic pulse, with its power of communication, is the very essence of music,
and…must generate from within the body itself”. However, the rhythmic pulse will be
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blocked by rigidity in any of the joints in the body (Havas, 1973: 29), which could
have a purely physical origin, or be caused by mental anxiety.
The competitive attitudes in society often lead to an anxiety to succeed and a fear of
being judged as being less than perfect, causing many mental and technical blockages
in a performer (Havas, 1973: 7) and clearly illustrating how an outside-inward focus
leads to interference. Havas (1973: 8) believes that all violinists should be encouraged
to view themselves as creative artists right from the beginning, with an attitude of
giving to their listeners. This inside-outward emphasis fosters a creative imagination
and does away with many factors that lead to stage fright and inhibition of the artistic
impulse (Havas, 1973: 136).
Havas (1973: 111) also found that in order to cultivate this inside-outward approach,
it was crucial to eliminate the traditional teacher-pupil relationship, in which the
teacher holds judgment on a student’s ability, and to replace it with a working
partnership, where the teacher becomes a guide to lead the pupil in discovering ways
of helping himself. The emphasis is never on judging a student’s efforts, but the
criteria for success is whether he or she enjoyed communicating the music from
within to the audience. A true sense of inner pleasure and comfort is the goal, and
mental and physical blockages are explored and eliminated until a pupil attains this
inner state of freedom (Bonnici, 1988: 1).
Another great hindrance to effective inside-outward playing can be found in the role
of the eyes in violin playing. Havas (1973: 64) believes that misleading visual
information is a major cause of interference, due to the proximity of the fingerboard
to the eyes: “There is no instrument, to my knowledge, where the eye is as closely
connected with the fingertip activities as it is in the violin”. Not only does this visual-
tactile connection undermine the use of the inner ear (Havas, 1973: 64), but it also
gives the false impression that the hands (and fingertips) lead the playing movements.
This outside-inward playing is the cause of a great many tensions and interferences, as
an attempt to lead from the extremities merely results in unnatural physical actions
and mental and physical discomfort.
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Casals was possibly the first to advocate the idea that the impulse for the playing
movements, especially the bow stroke, comes from the centre of the body instead of
the extremities. He believed that this allows the different movements to be integrated
into a unified whole, ultimately leading to more satisfying results (Smith, 1996), an
idea that is fundamental to the New Approach.
Instead of playing from the violin in the hands inwards, movements are directed from
the mind outward through the body, and follow simple physiological principles, in
that all natural movements unfold from the inside out and depend on the flexibility of
the joints (cf Havas, 1973: 15). For instance, the bow is not led from the wrist or the
hand, but the movement originates in the back and is projected through the shoulder-
and elbow joints (cf Havas, 1973: 29; 34). Any tension in holding the instrument (i.e.
in the neck and shoulders) will cause rigidity throughout the body and have a negative
effect on the flexibility, coordination and ease of movement, and so inside-outward
playing endeavours to resolve the problems where they originate.
Communicating the music does not depend on conscious physical efforts, but on the
ability to sing from within through one’s instrument. Vocalizing the music emphasises
the reality that the music begins inside the player, “and not from the contact point of
hair and string” (Black, 1990: 5). Many great performers instinctively do this: Pablo
Casals was well known for singing along with his playing, as was Glen Gould.
Mitsuko Uchida has been described in a review in The Times as “mouthing the notes
trancelike” during a performance (Havas, 2003: 3). Havas (2003: 3) calls this the true
“from inside-outward” communication, where inwardly singing with the note names
has the power to direct the playing movements.
Too often the approach to playing music is to read the written notes and then to try
them out on the instrument. Hearing what is played is then followed by correction.
Kodály taught the opposite: while reading the notes, the sound is first heard or
imagined inwardly and only then played on the instrument. Usually very little
correction is needed afterwards with this approach (Havas, 1973: 82). Havas (1961:
31) elaborates on this theme: “…if the mind is developed to anticipate the right pitch
and quality of sound, the fingers will follow the demand of the mind. Instead of
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spending hours trying to train the fingers to play in tune, we should train our minds to
hear the tune”.
The musical information has to be organised mentally before it can be physically
followed through on the instrument. However, Havas strongly advises against
listening to a recording in order to imitate and memorise the music, as this also
amounts to outside-in playing, blunting individual creativity (Perkins, 1995: 55).
Instead, she uses Kodály-based exercises to internalise the pitch and rhythm: this
includes feeling the pulse through whole body movements and rhythmic speaking
patterns, clapping and sight-singing as well as miming the actual playing movements -
leading to a “true musical internalisation rather than mere memorization” (Perkins,
1995: 194).
Through first internalising the music, physical movements can become precise
expressions of musical intent. However, in order to be “an open channel for the
transforming of musical concepts into sounds” (Kenneson, 1974: 42), it is obviously
very important that there should be no physical interferences that can block the
powerful inside-outwards energy flow through which an organic communication with
the listener is established (Havas, 1973: 29). Through the use of the fundamental
balances, this freedom of movement is established and assured.
The New Approach takes the concept of inside-out playing to its ultimate conclusion
in coordinating all aspects of technique in an expressive impulse. As the focus is on
the music inside and not on the outer movements, it is important to eliminate any
thought of a violin hold or bow hold - a preoccupation with the physical handling of
the instrument will detract from “letting it happen” and allowing the physical
movements to evolve naturally from the musical decisions that have been made in the
mind (Kenneson, 1974: 42).
4.4.3 Mind over movement
A common response to the New Approach is that, while it does lead to much greater
physical ease and freedom of expression, it demands intense mental training in terms
of co-ordination and concentration (Hirons, as cited in Havas, 1968: 95). Havas
(1964: Introduction) concedes that though violin playing is made far easier through
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the New Approach, the assimilation of the approach itself may not be easy at all. She
repeatedly stresses throughout her writing that the method consists predominantly of a
training of the mind, not the body, as the body has no choice but to obey “once the
mind learns to give the right orders to the right places” (Havas, 1964: 17). Good
progress therefore depends on learning the necessary mental discipline.
Interference is often caused through using excessive effort and unnecessary activity in
performing a particular movement. The New Approach aims firstly to identify the key
motivating positions of the fundamental balances and subsequently to discipline the
mind to give orders only to those specific points (Havas, 1964: 76). Havas (1964: 32)
stresses that the difficulty in violin playing is not physical, but in mentally accepting
that responsibility be taken away from the outer extremities (i.e. the hands and fingers
that are seen to be moving), and given to the place where the movement originates,
the motivating balance, which is often obscure (i.e. the left hand base knuckles, or the
right shoulder- and elbow joints).
Galamian (1962: 5) calls the relationship of mind to muscles “correlation”, and
emphasizes that the very foundation of technique relies on the “smooth, quick and
accurate functioning of the sequence in which the mental command elicits the desired
muscular response”. He believes that technical mastery and control are gained through
improving correlation, and not by the training or strengthening of muscles, as is often
erroneously believed (Galamian, 1985: 6). It is not the strength of the muscle that
matters, but how responsive it is to the mental command: “The better the correlation,
the greater the facility, accuracy, and reliability of the technique” (Galamian, 1985:
6).
This view is fundamental to Havas’s teaching. She states categorically that “no
physical action can take place without an order from the mind” (Havas, 1964: 76), and
the New Approach exercises are all designed to establish this chain of command. The
object is always to have a very clear mental picture of the desired sound - and the
action required to produce it - before actually playing. Havas (1964: 5) believes that
much difficulty can be avoided through alternating mental practise with physical
playing, and so she often recommends that a pupil should put the instrument down to
merely think about the movement (Havas, 1964: 6).
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Freymuth, 1999: 31:
Mental practise refers to the process of imagining experiences in a vivid and life-like manner, with the intention of influencing physical actions. When practising mentally, you either recall sensory feedback precisely as it was experienced, or project a mental model that is based on personal experience but incorporates changes and/or new elements.
Mental practise has been the subject of much research and there is solid scientific
evidence to support its effectiveness (Freymuth, 1999: 13). Researchers have found
that alternating physical repetitions with periods of rest where mental review can take
place (such as suggested by Havas) is more effective than simply repeating the same
movement over and over (Freymuth, 1999: 29). Freymuth (1999: 13) believes that
although musicians often develop some mental practise skills on their own, “only a
rare teacher will actually teach students to use these valuable skills”. It is clear that
Havas is one of these rare teachers.
Fritz Kreisler features prominently in both the writings of Havas and Freymuth as an
example of one of the many musicians who depended on “some form of mental
practise to help them achieve technical fluency and to refine their musical
interpretations” (Freymuth, 1999: 21). He believed that emphasising the mechanical
side of playing did more harm than good (Kreisler, as cited in Havas, 1973: 101), and
regarded reliance on muscular habit in performance as dangerous, as technique is
primarily “a matter of the brain”. The emphasis should not be on how many hours one
practises, since “practise benumbs the brain, renders the imagination less acute and
deadens the sense of alertness that every artist must possess” (Kreisler, as cited in
Havas, 1973: 125). Kreisler (as cited in Freymuth, 1999: 21) further underlined the
importance of creating a mental picture, or a kind of “master record” of the playing
actions, which he used in conjunction with the silent study of musical scores.
In order to develop such a mental record of physical movements, a heightened
awareness of kinaesthetic and tactile feedback during playing is very important
(Freymuth, 1999: 33). In Mental practice and imagery for musicians, Freymuth
(1999: 16, 48) recommends miming, imagining the feeling of movements, and
becoming aware of the tactile sense of the instrument in order to facilitate mental
practise. She also regards singing as an intermediate step between the mental version
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of a movement and its physical counterpart (Freymuth, 1999: 40). All of these
practises are integral features of the New Approach1.
4.4.4 The fundamental balances
In contrast with some conventional methods of violin teaching, where the specific
placing of the body and hands is often taught (sometimes to the extent of forcing the
limbs into uncomfortable positions), Havas (1973: xiii) developed her method from
natural, effortless body movements “based on the fundamental principles of co-
ordinated balances”. She uses the term fundamental balances as a simplification for
the scientific terminology of “the physiological key motor responses” (Havas, 1973:
xiii).
While acknowledging that there are many ways to develop technique, Havas’s aim is
to find the quickest and easiest route, that will simultaneously also give the most
assurance against breakdown and fatigue (Havas, 1964: 68):
…only freedom from anxiety can guarantee complete assurance…this freedom of anxiety, as far as violin playing is concerned, depends entirely on an effortless control of movements. So we are back to the basic principle again – to the self-propelled play-actions of the fundamental balances (Havas: 1964: 68).
Havas (1964: 68) goes on to say that in order to fully understand the function of the
fundamental balances, it is of crucial importance to realize that they are all eventually
co-ordinated into the smooth functioning of the whole, so that ultimately no
distinction is made between the various aspects of technique, such as bowing
technique, or left hand technique. Violin playing can then be defined as chain of links,
with each point of balance interlocking with and interdependent of another (Havas,
1964: 76).
However, the balances must first be individually identified, and the necessary mental
control established in order to activate the particular movement, before they can all be
1 See 4.4.5, 4.4.6 and 4.4.7.
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integrated. The difficulty is that the fundamental balances are usually not visible, so
that each action must be traced to its origin in order to find the key control or cue for
that movement (Havas, 1964: 2). Attention needs to be focused on the (often)
invisible source of the movement, rather than on the visible activity of the arms or
fingers. Hence the left hand base knuckles, which are hidden from view while
playing, actually control the movements of the fingers, and not the fingertips, which
are very clearly seen to be moving. Likewise, it is the muscles that attach the shoulder
blades to the spine that have power over the movements of the arms, and not the
forearms or hands.
In explaining the fundamental balances, Havas (1964: 3) makes use of the image of a
see-saw to illustrate how ease of movement depends on an adjustment of weight
rather than on force: even a very heavy object can be moved with the slightest touch
when it is evenly balanced. For instance, she points out that with the body as pivot, an
imaginary weight hanging from the shoulder blade in the back will allow the left arm
(being the lighter end) to rise with a minimum of effort and so achieve a feeling of
easy suspension (Havas, 1964: 3), as opposed to the fatiguing effort of attempting to
lift and hold the arm up with the hand (Havas, 1973: 21), where more tension is
inevitably used than is necessary.
This same principle of balance is applied to the stance and holding the instrument, as
it is the feeling of weight in the back that prevents the body from leaning forward with
the weight of the violin (Havas, 1964: 4), leading to tension in the back and shoulders.
With the legs set shoulder-width apart, the weight is transferred towards the heels and
the bottom of the spine (Havas, 1961: 15), so that the violin and arms are
counterbalanced by a whole body adjustment (instead of leaning backwards from the
middle, for instance). Such a balanced posture is essential, as even the slightest
movement of the arms in the front relocates the centre of gravity in the body.
According to Wright (as cited in Havas, 1968: 92), only a “good dynamic posture”
(which is based on natural balance and able to adapt to changing circumstances as
movement takes place) can serve as an efficient background to violin playing.
The violin is inserted into this balanced stance, and it is important to note that the
body is not adjusted to the violin, but that the instrument fits naturally and
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comfortably into the body. [This is even more obvious from the New Approach
exercises as they are taught today, and it will be considered in greater detail in
Chapter Six.] Although the left arm appears to be holding up the violin, it is in reality
suspended from the muscles in the back (Havas, 1968: 18), and as the violin is
balanced between the collarbone and the left hand, with only the weight from the back
of the head resting on the chinrest (Havas, 1973: 24), it too feels light and weightless.
Havas emphasises the need to eliminate the very concept of a violin-hold, as most
violinists suffer from the misconception that they not only need to hold the violin up
with the left hand, but must also press down with the chin on the chinrest in order to
secure the instrument. However, any downward pressure with the chin inevitably
results in a counter-pressure from the shoulder underneath, leading to tension, anxiety
and rigidity in the body (Havas, 1973: 20). As tension in one part of the body tends to
lead to tension elsewhere (Havas, 1961: 16), it is of crucial importance to establish a
free and balanced stance with the violin, while keeping the shoulder joints loose and
flexible.
Through establishing a “self-generating motion and balance (in the form of an organic
rhythmic pulse)” (Havas, 1973: 18) in the stance itself, tension can be released in the
body as a whole. However, due to the tensions connected with holding the instrument,
violinists need to take special care to learn to apply the rhythmic pulse before it can
become a self-generating process (Havas, 1973: 19).
The success of all bowing technique also depends on the counterbalance in the back.
Through suspending the arm from the back - instead of lifting it from the hand, which
will make it feel heavy - it is possible to create a “weightless, wing-like sensation” in
the arm (Havas, 1973: 21), thus assuring the freedom and mobility of the shoulder
joint (Havas, 1973: 25). The bow-stroke can then become a floating action instead of
a physical effort (Havas, 1964: 10), so that the suspended arm is like “a spring which
opens and shuts like a concertina” (Havas, 1964: 11). All possible blockages in the
elbow and wrist joints need to be eliminated as well in order to establish this self-
propelled bowing action, in which the bow acts only as a transmitter of the swinging
arm movements (Havas, 1973: 32).
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There is a correlation between the weight distribution and rhythmic division of the
arm and bow: the section of bow below the balance point is related to the upper arm,
and the movement is activated by a sideways swing from the shoulder socket. The
heavier section of bow below the balance point is consequently balanced by the
relative greater weight of the upper arm, with the sideways swing from the shoulder
corresponding to the exact length of this part of the bow (Havas, 1973: 34). The
longer part of the bow, above the balance point, relates to the forearm, and depends on
the opening and shutting of the elbow joint (Havas, 1973: 32-33). The swinging
movement of the upper arm is continued through the forward swing of the forearm, in
order to complete the whole bow movement.
Havas (1973: 34) found that the elbow is often not able to flex freely, and that the
degree of stiffness in this joint corresponds directly to the degree of stiffness in the
bow hold, which inevitably leads to tension in the wrist as well. This is usually the
result of an attempt to lead the bow stroke with the hand or wrist (or to control it with
the fore arm) and many violinists are so used to this state of affairs that they are not
even aware of the stiffness in the elbow joint, apart from having a vague feeling of
discomfort and anxiety in controlling the bow (Havas, 1973: 34).
Havas (1973: 32–38) gives extensive exercises to correct these misconceptions and to
establish the true motivating balances for the bow movements. The thought of a bow
hold as such is eliminated through establishing sufficient balance in the thumb
underneath the stick, with the end-pads of the fingers released and not gripping the
bow (Havas, 1973: 30). Bowing is always described in terms of swinging and curves,
and once all the balances are established and integrated, it becomes an autonomous
action (Havas, 1973: 37). Noel Hale (as cited in Havas, 1968: 46) compares this self-
propelled bowing movement to that of the legs in walking:
So, like legs, the bow just goes to and fro on its musical journey: a machine of movement, automatically propelled without conscious thought, ready and able to respond to the slightest nuance or other demand of the player….The bow arm is part of the musician and…shares the player’s ear for making music – as the legs share his inclination to walk…(Hale, as cited in Havas, 1968: 46.)
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Havas’s preferred style of producing sound is with this “airborne bowing arm”, in
which the subtle tonal nuancing required is controlled through subconscious impulse
(1961: 28). One of the most important aspects of the New Approach is that all
technical problems are tackled through the medium of tone production (Havas, 1964:
67). Havas (1961: 21) believes that “only a perfect marriage” between the left and
right hands can create a perfect sound: while the bow sets the vibration of the string in
motion, and controls the length, smoothness and volume of sound, the quality of tone
depends on the left hand finger action (1961: 28), which in turn depends entirely on
the correct use of the fundamental balances in the base joints (Havas, 1964: 27).
Although the actual source of the left hand finger action is in the tendons that attach
just below the elbow joint, the “nearest balance point of leverage” with the power to
control the movement of the fingers, is in the base joints of the left hand fingers
(Havas, 1964: 30). The fingers themselves do not make or cause the action, but only
follow through on the swinging movement from the base joints. Likewise, the tips of
the fingers do not press into the string, but merely balance the weight from the base
knuckles on the string. This free and relaxed finger action is vital to all aspects of left
hand technique.
In fact, Havas (1973: 41) equates tone with intonation, as well as with vibrato, in a
composite concept of “touch” – these are all aspects of a beautiful sound and all
require the free and unforced action of the left hand fingers on the strings. The basis
for her belief that the quality of tone depends on the quality of “touch” in the left hand
(Havas, 1964: 30), is that any rigidity in the left hand finger action will disturb “the
full play of the compound sound wave systems” (i.e. the full range of overtones),
resulting in a hard, dead sound (Havas: 1964: 31).
Dr Alexander Wood, The Physics of Music, as cited in Havas, 1973: 40:
It is generally recognized that the manner of stopping has a paramount influence on tone-production. This makes the intended tone quality differ from what is actually produced. Hard and liquescent stopping, false intonation, uneven vibrato, insecure change of position, etc., are in part all due to poorly developed touching that is incapable of adaptation.
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Rigidity is usually a greater problem in the left hand than the right hand, as the
downward pressure of the fingers causes instant and unavoidable counter pressure in
the thumb underneath, or on the side of the neck (Havas, 1973: 40). Havas (1973: 43)
believes the desire for a flexible thumb will remain unfulfilled while there is vertical
pressure from the fingers on the fingerboard, a danger inherent in the very concept of
a vertical finger action, as is mostly taught in orthodox methods.
Through taking the attention away from what appears to be doing the movement, i.e.
the finger tips, and placing it on the base joints, the movement can be felt as a
horizontal swing, or a light lateral slide (Havas, 1973: 44) from the base knuckle,
while the finger itself holds no tension. A slight backward tilt in the base knuckle (i.e.
towards to scroll), further eliminates vertical pressure on the string. This movement
allows the thumb to act as “a ‘counter balance’ to the finger action, rather than a
‘counter pressure’” (Havas, 1973: 45).
An alive and sensitive hand is thus created, able to respond to the imaginative use of
the inner ear in intonation, tone and delicate interval colouring, and all ultimately
dependent on “the continuous shift of balances in the left hand finger action” (Havas,
1964: 76). Kenneson (1974: 41) elaborates on this expressive use of the left hand:
The New Approach involves the player with the act of touching the instrument in such a way that he becomes totally committed to a spontaneous awareness of contact between fingertips and strings. The left-hand gestures (which give physical form to the music) culminate in a tactile experience that sends back information endlessly to the nervous system, which is constantly modulating movement. The body becomes the transmitter of music, and the tactile awareness allows sensory feedback to constantly organize the automatic machinery of the living body. The player soon enjoys ‘feeling’ the music passing through his body in gestures, and he ceases to observe the physical acts visually for the sake of directing them consciously. (Kenneson, 1974: 41.) 4.4.5 Touch
Tactile awareness is a major consideration in the New Approach, as is apparent from
the above quotation. Many of the problems of tension and rigidity that violinists
struggle with, arise from the body’s physical response to touching the instrument
(Kenneson, 1974: 11). Havas (1973: 54) points out that there is a great incongruity
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between the fluid, “liquid” sound that is desired, and the hard wooden feel of the
instrument on which this sound is to be produced.
Havas, 1973: 54 – 55:
We all know we should not be rigid. We would all like to have a mobile, flexible, and responsive left hand, darting up and down the violin with great ease. But we also know that, alas, the hand more often than not, refuses to oblige.…as our tactile senses respond by nature to the substance of any given texture, there is constant (albeit only subconscious) conflict in the player between his aural desire and the tactile realities….from the third position onward, when the main body of the violin is also involved with our ‘touch’ – the tactile sensitivity of the thumb and wrist is quick to respond to the rigid hardness of wood it encounters. And the more true this is, the more difficult it is to attempt any vibrato – not to mention the shift.
There is often a lack of sensory awareness of the hand in its contact with the
instrument, as these places of contact are not in the direct line of vision (Havas, 1973:
56). Through noticing the exact contact points and then consciously softening the
touch against the instrument, with a very light stroking action of the thumb or hand, it
is possible to experience a sensation like stroking silk or satin (Havas, 1973: 56).
Consciously fostering this “soft, silk-and-satin tactile image” (Havas, 1973: 60) in
contact with the instrument, creates a corresponding release and softening in the hand
and thumb, to a far greater degree than the instruction to relax is usually able to do.
This principle applies to the contact points between the chin and neck and the violin
as well. The thought that the chin-rest is made of silk and satin, feeling soft to the
touch, helps to elicit a corresponding feeling of softness in the body (Havas, 1973:
23). Clamping down on the chin-rest, which results in a feeling of hardness and
resistance in the contact between body and instrument, can be recognised clearly in
contrast, and avoided.
Imagining that the instrument is alive (which is easy to do since its parts are named
after the human body: neck, back and ribs), can also influence the touch on the
instrument, especially when the violinist is able to identify the neck of the violin with
his own, and to transfer the quality of touch that he would use on his own neck to that
of the instrument (Havas, 1973: 99).
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Through nurturing sensory awareness, the New Approach not only eliminates the
tensions inherent in touching the instrument, but also helps to create a greater
consciousness of kinaesthetic and tactile feedback, which is necessary for effective
mental practise (Freymuth, 1999: 33). Mental representations of movements are
created from memories of physical sensations (Freymuth, 1999: 22), in order to
construct a “master record” of the playing actions, as described by Kreisler (as cited
in Freymuth, 1999: 21)1. Havas often refers to the feeling of a movement, and advises
that the imagination be used to recreate that feeling, along with the required sound,
before actually playing:
This pre-conception is not a question of talent – it is merely a matter of training…And the fusion of the two, both of feeling and of hearing the sound before touching it, eliminates the long stages of mechanical struggle with the fingers. (Havas, 1964: 34.)
An acute sensory awareness of how the body is moved and used, is not only essential
for effective mental practising, but also for developing an effective physical technique
itself (Freymuth, 1999: 42). It is the kinaesthetic sense that “allows us to judge the
timing, force, and extent of our movements and to make the necessary adjustments in
the wake of this information” (Gardner, 1985: 210). The body’s feedback mechanisms
are highly complex, with a great variety of neural and muscular mechanisms working
together in a highly differentiated and integrated manner, continuously refining and
regulating the motor movements in relation to the intended goal state (Gardner, 1985:
211).
Havas (1973: 113) always relates the touch to the resulting quality of sound, the
ultimate goal of the New Approach. The light, sensitive touching as taught in the New
Approach - eliminating any pressure in the fingertip on the string (Havas, 1968: 84) –
allows for the feedback of rich sensory information, through which movements are
continually adjusted in order to precisely convey the musical intent of the performer.
This is only possible, however, if the playing gestures are allowed to unfold
subcortically (Kenneson, 1974: 42), and the player can “let it happen” without
interfering through conscious physical efforts.
1 See 4.4.3.
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Kenneson, 1974: 43:
The balanced hand and the resilient, sensitive touch release one from the idea that the fingertip-string relationship is immediately responsible for musical results. The fingertips become integrated into the total physical gesture, and their touching is both the final expression of a movement, and the means by which sensory feedback is sent to the nervous system, which modulates movement.
It is the inner ear that directs the left hand fingers in touching the string to shape the
melody (Havas, 1964: 68), and it is imperative that “every sound, without exception,
must be directed according to its musical meaning” (Kenneson, 1974: 33), as a habit
of mechanical, musically-unrelated practising may impede a player’s musical
progress.
4.4.6 The inner ear
Havas places great emphasis on stimulating a creative musical imagination through
developing the inner ear, which ultimately directs all physical playing actions. “The
more important, more necessary, and most basic requirement of all musicians,
especially violinists (is) the development of the inner ear” (Havas, 1973: 75).
Musicians are often so caught up in overcoming difficulties on their instruments that
they are completely unaware of the inner ear (Havas, 1973: 75), but it is only the inner
ear that “can link the player to the depth and inner core of the music” (Havas, 1973:
76) and it needs the same regular, systematic training as the physical aspects of
technique. Havas (1964: 34) believes that the sound should be “a living conception”
for a violinist, before the fingers even touch the string, much as an author or painter
mentally conceives the idea for a book or painting long before the physical act of
creating it.
In order for the imagination of the inner ear to function properly, it is necessary to
develop it away from the instrument (Havas, 1973: 76). Music is sourced internally
from a “heightened awareness and sensitivity of all the passions, joys and sorrows of
human nature” (Havas, 1973: 76), which in turn is nurtured by an active interest in
many aspects of life and art, not only music. Understanding the background to a
composition, and being familiar with a composer’s cultural milieu as well as his
sound-world (through listening to a great variety of his works), is essential in order
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for the inner ear to “conjure up the texture and sound best suited to a particular
composition” (Havas, 1973: 76).
Through the vivid use of imagery, the characterisation of intervals (happy major third,
tragic semitone, etc) and singing the notes while rhythmically clapping the pulse, a
creative attitude is stimulated right from the beginning (Havas, 1973: 114).
Havas, 1973: 19:
Few violinists realise that singing (with the rhythmic pulse), away from their instruments, is one of the greatest releases from tension and anxiety in violin playing, apart from being the real inner source of their musical impulses. For, how can one possibly communicate if the music itself (the tune with its rhythmic pulse) is not established in the very soul of one’s being? In order to achieve this, the aural image must be allowed to develop freely, without the impediments of an instrument. Our artistic potential can be realized only if we learn to become musicians first and violinists second.
Once the power of the inner ear is discovered, there is a continual increase in its
perception and creativity, and it becomes a powerful force that can enable a violinist
to forget about all the external aspects of playing, including himself, so that he is able
to communicate the core of the music to his audience (Havas, 1973: 77). Havas goes
on to say:
…this state of bliss is only possible if a free-flowing channel of total motion and balance has been established. If there is the slightest physical blockage caused by rigidity in any given part of the body…the imagination of the inner ear stops functioning. For just as in everyday life our limbs translate our thoughts into actions, so in violin playing the inside-outward rhythmic energy impulses become transmitters of the musical imagination. (Havas, 1973: 77).
A balanced use of the body, free from excess tension, enables quick physiological
reactions to be made to the direction of the musical imagination, and allows the inner
ear to function unhampered (Havas, 1973: 77). Any rigidity in the body “prevents
spontaneous reaction in our sensory perception” (Havas, 1973: 72), and so aural
feedback is greatly facilitated when tensions are released.
The sensitivity of the inner ear is also closely connected with the “co-ordinated aural
and physical reaction to the pitch” (Havas, 1973: 76). In The twelve lesson course
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(1964), Havas gives extensive exercises to train the mind in pre-hearing the pitch,
coupled to the corresponding touch required for that particular note, so that the fingers
are put under the control of the inner ear: as the note is heard inwardly a fraction
before it is played, the fingers automatically find their place. Galamian (1985: 20)
supports this view:
Eventually, this skill develops to a point where the mere act of mentally preparing the movement and thinking the sound of the desired pitch will be sufficient to cause the fingers automatically to hit the right places on the strings with accuracy. (Galamian, 1985: 20.)
With a resilient and flexible touch, there can also be a spontaneous adjustment the
moment the finger touches the string (Havas, 1964: 32), should it be necessary.
Conversely, if the finger is unable to respond to the corrective demands of the ear
because of pressing too hard into the string, the inner ear will eventually stop
functioning (Havas, 1973: 41), leading to great anxiety with regard to intonation, and
blocking creativity.
The listening of the inner ear always takes place a moment before actually playing,
“conjuring up and transporting all the information it has absorbed into active
imagination of the music at hand…So by its very nature of creativity it is always
ahead, compelling the player to pursue it” (Havas, 1973: 77). In this anticipatory
inner hearing, attention is so focused that a player has no time to be distracted by
critical self-talk, and the body is given a clear sense of its goal (cf Green & Gallway,
1986: 75).
4.4.7 Automation of technique
Playing the violin is a highly complex activity, requiring a high degree of
coordination. Not only do arms, hands and fingers have to work together in order to
produce a single sound, but the interaction between mind and body also needs to be
synchronized effectively. It is impossible to consciously control all of these processes
at the same time, or to attain total coordination from a set of rules (Havas, 1973: 28).
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Hellebrandt, 1970: 479:
…upon what does the player concentrate in the midst of this profusion of central nervous system and neuromuscular activity?…He has only one concern, hearing inwardly the idea inherent in the musical symbols read, and not preoccupation with the details of the operation of the physical body used as his medium of expression.
Kenneson (1974: 90) states that it is impossible to have cortical control over
movement and at the same time still focus on the music. The inner hearing of the
music alone becomes the co-ordinating factor, triggering and uniting the diverse
actions involved in playing the violin. When the music has been conceptualised very
clearly, it can be sung directly through the instrument. An analogy could be made
with the act of speaking: the actual moving of the lips or tongue is not the conscious
focus, but the mental concept is expressed automatically and directly through these
physical movements.
Havas (1973: 114) found that a very effective way to connect the imagination with the
actual skill of playing is to mime the playing movements without the instrument,
while singing the notes. In this way, the playing gestures are programmed so that
singing the note-name with the inner musical voice will cue the beginning of the
movement (at the motivating key points of the fundamental balances), while
rhythmically pulsing the note “keeps the gesture operative throughout the duration of
the tone” (Kenneson, 1974: 50). Singing is the mental direction to which the body
responds when the player is able to simply “let it happen” (Kenneson, 1974: 51).
It is, however, very important that the mental direction be very clear, in order for it to
become a stimulus capable of eliciting the whole movement pattern (Kenneson, 1974:
51). The singing should therefore initially be done out loud while miming, as well as
while actually playing on the instrument, as “there is every indication that until this
device is habituated, there is danger of its use fading in favor of concentration on the
particulars of the physical action” (Kenneson, 1974: 51).
Kenneson, 1974: 75:
When there is a clarity of the ideational objective, the command is bold, and the triggering device works. If the ideational objective is vague, the command lacks definite direction. Command follows conceptualisation. Once the total
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response is triggered, then the player must allow it to run its course in a pliant way always responsive to the messages streaming from the points of contact.
When the body is in a state of natural balance, the left and right hands are
spontaneously coordinated while they create the rhythm of the interval gestured in the
left hand (Kenneson, 1974: 68), as dictated by the inner musical voice. While those
who favour bow-directed playing have criticised the New Approach for the
dominance of the left hand, Kenneson (1974: 62) points out that, in fact, “no more
than a mechanical rhythm can be produced with the bowing if the bowing is not an
integral part of the total bodily response”. Furthermore, the tone produced from the
integration of both left and right hands differs substantially in quality from “that
which results from a mechanical motivation in the bowing arm itself, which is
cortically controlled and does not evolve naturally” (Kenneson, 1974: 64).
Kenneson (1974: 59) gives a short summary of the automation of technique in the
New Approach:
When the mind and the body are coordinated to work in this way, the musical ideas will emerge in a positive physical form. Once fundamental skills have been mastered, there is no need for cortical control of the physical aspects of playing. The mind will issue the orders which automatically programme the acts needed. These acts evolve naturally because the physical gestures allow the player the sensuous pleasure of touching the instrument, ‘knowing’ the feel of the technical procedures rather than thinking about them and directing them from the mind. (Kenneson, 1974: 59.)
4.5 The scientific base of the New Approach
A brief overview of the scientific basis of the New Approach is helpful not only for
attaining an in-depth understanding of the procedures and practises advocated by
Havas, but also for drawing parallels with the Alexander Technique in Chapter Five.
4.5.1 Gestalt
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (ed Sykes, 1976) describes gestalt as the “perceived
organized whole that is more than the sum of its parts, e.g. a melody as distinct from
the separate notes of it”. The New Approach has been appraised in the light of gestalt
theory by several physicians and scientists, most notably by Dr. Ivan Wright, an
eminent Canadian physician, and the renowned biologist and researcher, Dr. FA
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Hellebrandt1. Their articles appeared in The Strad as part of the debate around the
New Approach that raged in that publication from 1960 to 19702.
Dr. Wright explored the similarities between the philosophy of the New Approach
and the essence of Polnauer’s research in senso-motor study as applied to violin
playing. Polnauer’s conclusion was that the motion gestalt, where the whole
predominates, “is of paramount importance for the optimal performance of any skilled
activity, be it ballet dancing, figure skating or playing the violin” (Wright, as cited in
Havas, 1968: 91).
Gestalt theory is based on optimal balance, and holds that the whole determines the
parts, as opposed to atomistically oriented thinking that the whole is merely the sum
total of its parts, which leads to a preoccupation with part function (Wright, as cited in
Havas, 1968: 91). Thinking about each separate action only serves to inhibit the
body’s natural reflex actions, causing neuralgic and muscular tensions and difficulties
(Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86). Instead of working from smaller actions to build
up a whole, the New Approach exemplifies gestalt theory, as it is based on “the larger
basic motions of the relaxed body, freeing the shoulders, arms, wrists and fingers to
follow their own natural reflex actions” (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86).
Wright gives a summary of a practical demonstration of a motion gestalt, as proposed
by Polnauer, which is remarkably similar to what Havas teaches regarding miming
before playing (cf Havas, 1973: 23, 33+). The playing positions are simulated without
the violin, after which the instrument is placed without disturbing the positions
naturally derived in the first stage. While repeating the movements with the
instrument, the physical actions and the accompanying sensations should closely
match those experienced while miming. Any unnatural position that was not present
in the simulation phase, such as an elbow raised out of proportion to where it was
without the instrument, will be noticed due to an awareness of increased tension and
interference in the coordination of the movement (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968:
91).
1 See 4.3.1 and 4.2.3 respectively. 2 References prior to 1968 are from Havas (1968). See 4.2.3.
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In this way a natural, dynamic posture can be achieved. A posture is dynamic when
the body is involved in an activity, and it serves as an efficient background to
movement (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92). It cannot be derived from specific
rules or specifications, but is based on natural balance. The necessary postural
adjustments demanded by the complex activity of playing the violin can only be made
through the use of balance, and the dynamic posture allows this to happen “with
maximum efficiency and minimum effort” (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92). A
body in balance is in control, and in a state of relaxed relationship with the
instrument, so that it is free to respond to the demands of the creative imagination
(Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86).
Through this dynamic posture, a self-perpetuating process of balance is set in motion,
as “the creation of balance demands further balance” (Havas, 1961: 17). However,
Havas points out that the converse is also true: tension in one part of the body will
create more tension elsewhere, and so a teacher has to be able to recognize exactly
where the real origin of the problem lies (Havas, 1961: 57): tension in the right hand
might be caused by tension in the left arm or hand, for instance. Wright (as cited in
Havas, 1968: 92) discusses this phenomenon of “co-innervation”, where tensions are
set up in distantly related parts of the whole body. Although co-innervation is a
natural mechanism whereby stronger muscles reinforce weaker ones in mass
movement patterns, it can cause great interference in any skilled activity if it is not
controlled. Through a technique based on natural balance, hidden tensions can be
resolved, in order to enable any player to function at his optimal neuro-muscular
ability (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92).
Polnauer’s second hypothesis requires that “the highest degree of motility of the
whole body must exist as a prerequisite for achieving an optimal total body
technique” (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 93). Through cultivating the use of
interrelated, fluid joints, the New Approach ensures a condition of the least
unnecessary tension in the muscles and minimal resistance to movement, allowing for
the greatest economy of effort (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 93).
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Hellebrandt (1970b: 477) also concludes that the New Approach is based on natural
movements that are gestalt entities, consisting of “many muscles embracing the
integrated use of the body as a whole”. She gives an in-depth assessment of the
biological foundations on which the New Approach rests, explaining its techniques in
terms of mechanisms known to control and regulate coordinated movements
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 277).
4.5.2 The Hellebrandt articles
Hellebrandt’s exposition of the neuro-physiological and biomechanical rationale of
Havas’s teaching, gave the New Approach a solid scientific basis (Kenneson, 1974:
12). In the first article, Hellebrandt demonstrates how the New Approach is based
essentially on primal, built-in patterns of coordination (1969: 277), and on natural
movements that affect “the musculature of the body as a whole in patterns of activity
controlled and regulated subcortically” (1969: 421). Havas’s teaching devices trigger
and allow “the automatic running of natural movement patterns and primitive built-in
reflex responses to postural sets” (Hellebrandt 1970b: 475), so that playing the violin
becomes more natural and easy.
While these natural movements are spontaneous and effortless, it is not easy to release
the domination of the mind in order to let it happen. Although the violin is played by
“volitional neuro-muscular acts” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 473), much of every willed act
is, in fact, both involuntary and outside consciousness (Hellebrandt, 1969: 361). As
motor learning difficulties are often due to self-imposed interferences (Hellebrandt,
1969: 365), a pupil needs to be “sufficiently in command of his higher centres”
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 363) in order to inhibit unnecessary cortical involvement while
carrying out motor movements, once he has understood what to do. Learning to
activate only “the key cues capable of unlocking the neuromuscular machinery”
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 277) in reflexive movement, demands sustained mental
concentration.
Through experimentation, Hellebrandt (1969: 305) found the New Approach stance to
be “the most stable of all postures”. Havas positions the body in a comfortable, easy
stance (with and without the violin), in which it is able to seek and find its own
balance (Hellebrandt, 1969: 279). The balanced body is allowed to make the
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necessary biomechanical adjustments in handling the instrument, without a conscious
effort to control the process (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307) or to place the instrument or
body in preconceived, fixed positions.
This stance also frees the shoulder girdle, so that the natural balances required for the
suspension of the arms can be established without interference. As many of the
muscles that attach to the head are also connected to the shoulder girdle and upper
back (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307), it is vitally important that there should be no tension in
holding the violin – clamping down with the chin will cause involuntary stiffening in
this area. Though eliminating the violin hold in the New Approach1, these muscles
remain free, so that the shoulder joints can move without restraint, allowing the right
and left hands to function effectively (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307).
Hellebrandt (1970b: 475) found that the distinctive way that the violin and bow are
held in the New Approach2, serves to inhibit the opposition of the thumb, and so
automatically suppresses the common tendency to grasp the neck of the instrument or
the bow reflexively. Thumb and finger opposition allows man to manipulate objects
precisely, “but the violinist…should not manipulate his instrument” (Hellebrandt,
1970a: 429), as this tends to cause much interference. The ideal in an expressive
technique is that the violin and bow should be an extension of the living body,
through which the imagination can be expressed. However, as “the body (is) a
subcortically controlled instrument of expression” (Hellebrandt, 1970a: 429), an
attempt to consciously manipulate the violin or bow will ultimately hinder this
relationship.
Only when the thumb and fingers are functionally dissociated, can the fingers be free
for unrestricted and independent action (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475), which is crucially
important in developing an effective left hand technique. While all violin schools
admonish pupils not to grip the neck of the violin or the bow, tension in the left hand
and the bowing arm still remains the most common problem among violinists
(Hellebrandt, 1970a: 429). Although her teaching in this regard is the most
1 See 4.4.4. 2 See 4.4.4.
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unorthodox aspect of her method, Havas seems to be the only one to offer a real
solution to this problem of reflexive grasping.
The activity of the thumb also determines “whether the hand, wrist, elbow and
shoulder will be allowed to operate as one magnificently integrated system of levers,
adjusting without strain to the demands of the music” (Hellebrandt, 1970a: 429).
Bowing technique is not divided into several discrete actions that are developed
separately, but consists of “natural total limb synergies” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475)
that depend on freedom of movement in all the joints of the arm, which in turn is
influenced to a large degree by the freedom and flexibility of the thumb.
In discussing the role of the mind in the New Approach, Hellebrandt (1970b: 475)
clarifies “the perceptual arrays that precede the act of playing”. Once the physical
balances have been established, the printed note is presented as a sensory cue for the
sound produced by the instrument. This visual cue is then given “an auditory facet
and rhythmic proprioceptive background” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475) through singing
and pulsing the music before playing. Once this has been internalised, and the pupil is
able to hear the music inwardly with the appropriate dynamics, he or she is taught
“how to yoke this configuration of objective and subjective cues to that complex of
proprioceptive patterns evoked by receptors in muscles, tendons and joints”
(Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475) in the act of physically playing the instrument. Saying the
note name is the key cue that triggers the whole of the physical response, greatly
simplifying the conscious process.
Hellebrandt (1970b: 477) analyses the way in which the desired behavioural pattern is
programmed in coded form before being carried out. Through feedback loops, the
resulting physical act is compared with the original image, “envisioned in all
complexity of feeling and sound” (Hellebrandt 1970b: 477). The biological processes
involved are described in detail, from the way the code is transposed into neural
patterns that prompt motor activity, to the sensory inputs that stimulate primitive
structures in the brain stem, the cortex as whole, and finally the limbic system where
affective states are aroused.
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Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477:
Reading ahead, the player programmes in advance of the execution of each passage. Throughout he is communicating what the music means to him….Although the whole is a process of immense complexity it runs its course with effortless grace when the motivational drive is directed at the expression of a musical content meaningful to a player conditioned to ‘let it happen’ without cortical interference.
As much of what happens is regulated autonomously, and cannot be introspected or
voluntarily controlled, the New Approach does not place great emphasis on the neuro-
muscular details of how the end-result is attained (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477). Havas
(1973: 28) clearly states that it is not possible to learn total coordination from a set of
rules, or even the study of neurophysiology, kinesiology or biomechanical motor
behaviour. “Only the over-all perfection of our human mechanism” (Havas, 1973:
28), relying on an instinctive and organic movement pattern, can ensure this
coordination.
The importance of touch cannot be underestimated in this process, as the continuous
stream of sensory input is the “ultimate source of all willed movements” (Hellebrandt,
1970b: 477), and also the means whereby these movements are refined continually,
whether the sensory feedback reaches conscious awareness or not. “It is the patterns
of these exteroceptive and proprioceptive directives which must be learnt, not the
patterns of movement” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477). This is precisely what the light,
resilient touching of the New Approach accomplishes: it evokes rich sensory input
which is “fed back to the arousal system in the brain stem, the limbic lobe and the
neo-cortex” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 479), driving the motor centres and continually
modulating the responses of the muscles, so that the tone is infused with warmth and
vitality.
Hellebrandt, 1970a: 423:
‘Let it happen’, says Havas, and when it does the violin becomes an extension of a responsive, living body, itself transformed into an instrument of expression capable of recreating every nuance of the composer’s intent.
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4.5.3 Flow
This freedom of musical self-expression, where musical thought is directly translated
into sound, without interference from either the body or the mind, is the greatest
desire of any performing musician, and Havas (1973: 77) calls this condition a “state
of bliss”. The many testimonies of people who have experienced it through applying
New Approach principles confirm her claim.
Though they are too numerous to recount, common responses from both professional
and amateur violinists tend to refer to the joy, assurance and seeming effortlessness
that they experience in their playing. One amateur violinist described it as a “miracle
of ease and assurance” (Crommelin, as cited in Havas, 1968: 89), and a teacher tells
of the “glory and incredulous delight” of a pupil “when the violin becomes alive in his
hands” (Jones, as cited in Havas, 1968: 76). The violinist Olivier Bonnici (1988: 7)
gives a similar account: “the exhilaration of ease I began to experience was
overwhelming….It is difficult to describe the feeling of joy when the violin begins to
sing almost of its own accord”.
Werner Ehrhardt, the leader and musical director of the acclaimed chamber orchestra
Concerto Köln, writes: “every single New Approach exercise is in the service of
musical communication and the coordination of it all allows the music to take over
and flow through the body and the instrument” (Ehrhardt, 2003: 6). The term inside-
outwards energy flow is often used to describe this essential quality of the New
Approach (cf Kreith, 2002: 4).
Havas, 1992: 1:
Most players have experienced moments of overwhelming bliss with a powerful energy flow that transcends all physical difficulties and a feeling of being one with the magic of the music.
In this statement, Havas gives a very articulate description of optimal experience as it
is defined by the social scientist Csikszentmihalyi (1990), who has extensively
researched this phenomenon which he calls “flow”. His own description of flow is, in
turn, remarkably similar to the accounts given by Havas and New Approach students.
D-w
KE KE
D-w
KE; CF
132
Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 53:
…the most universal and distinctive features of optimal experience (is that) people become so involved in what they are doing that the activity becomes spontaneous, almost automatic; they stop being aware of themselves as separate from the actions they are performing.
The word “flow” was chosen as a name for optimal experience, as it captures this
“sense of seeming effortless movement” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 54), and was often
used by the people interviewed during the research, to describe their experience
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 40). The research indicates that “optimal experience, and the
psychological conditions that make it possible, seem to be the same the world over”
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 49). It is possible to validate the claims of heightened
experience made by Havas and her students in the light of Csikszentmihalyi’s
research, as the conditions for flow are all complied with in the New Approach.
In flow, a “joyous, self-forgetful involvement through concentration” is achieved
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 105). Activities that are conducive to flow are usually
geared towards providing enjoyable experiences, and they are structured in such a
way that flow is also made easier to achieve (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 72). This is
done primarily through bringing order to consciousness and thereby enhancing the
quality of experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 58), as the normal state of
consciousness tends towards entropy, or chaos, which is not an enjoyable condition to
be in (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 119). Flow experiences therefore occur mostly in
“goal-directed” activities that require attention and skill (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 49),
as the clearly structured demands of such activities “impose order, and exclude the
interference of disorder in consciousness” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 58). Setting a
clear goal, concentrating one’s “psychic energy” and paying attention to the feedback
are all essential parts of this process (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 190).
Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 54:
Although the flow experience appears to be effortless, it is far from being so. It often requires strenuous physical exertion, or highly disciplined mental activity. It does not happen without the application of skilled performance. Any lapse in concentration will erase it. And yet while it lasts consciousness works smoothly, action follows action seamlessly.
KE; CF
KE
KE
CF
A
I
U-m
D; SA
A
KE
133
This is certainly true of the New Approach: even though the application of the method
leads to a sense of effortlessness and ease in playing the violin, the assimilation of the
approach itself is not easy, as it demands strenuous mental discipline and
concentration (Havas, 1964: Introduction). Order is consequently brought to
consciousness, through the “meaningful organization of thought processes, which
focuses the mental concentration on a musical idea” (Kenneson, 1974: 10)1.
The New Approach satisfies the requirements for clear goals and sustained
concentration: the exercises are clearly formulated2, and the mental practise that
Havas (1964: 2) advocates, further serves to clarify goals – imagining and/or miming
a movement away from the instrument, really focuses the mind on the precise
objective of the exercise3. The individual balances are first established one by one
before they are co-ordinated in a balanced whole4, and each step is to be mastered
before continuing to the next (Havas, 1964: 53). The goals, or challenges that are
presented, are therefore always appropriate to the skill (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990:
190+), so that the pupil has a chance of completing them successfully - an important
prerequisite for flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 49).
The ability to focus one’s attention, another a pre-condition for flow
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 31), is indispensable in developing a skill: Havas (1964: 2)
emphasizes that good violin playing “depends on the co-ordination of a host of
delicate balances which in turn demand a high degree of mental discipline”. Practising
in the New Approach is never to consist of mindless, mechanical repetition, but all
movements are to be performed with full concentration on the musical concepts that
motivate them (Kenneson, 1974: 33).
Mental or physical interferences are systematically uncovered and eliminated in the
New Approach (Havas, 1964: Introduction), thereby minimizing the distractions that
can “disrupt consciousness by threatening its goals” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 37), and
improving the ability to focus attention5. All the mental and physical processes
1 See 4.4.3 and 5.2. 2 See 4.4.4. 3 See 4.4.3. 4 See 4.4.4. 5 See 4.3.2.
KE
A
D; A
D; A
D
A
PB
T-g
A
PB; A
D
U-m; I
U-m
A
134
required in playing the violin are further co-ordinated into a single point of mental
control (Havas, 1961: 2; Hellebrandt, 1970: 479), allowing the player to forget about
everything but the moment of music in which he is absorbed1.
Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 62:
When an activity is thoroughly engrossing, there is not enough attention left over to…consider either the past or the future, or any other temporarily irrelevant stimuli. One item that disappears from awareness deserves special mention…our own selves.
In the deep, effortless involvement of flow activities, concern for the self disappears
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 49), which appears to be an enjoyable experience for most
people (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 64). As preoccupation with the self expends a lot of
“psychic energy” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 63), it is a hindrance and distraction to
focusing attention on the activity at hand, thus prohibiting flow. This “elimination of
the self” is the final step and ultimate goal in the New Approach, as true
communication can only begin when a player is able to forget about him- or herself:
“for with the elimination of the self he is able to reach the very core of the music and
through the interplay of co-ordinated balances is free to transmit it to the audience”
(Havas, 1973: 77). Havas (1973: 77) directly relates this ability to forget the self to
the “state of bliss” (i.e. flow) experienced when the violinist becomes one with the
instrument in transmitting the music.
According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990: 205), achieving unity with one’s surroundings
(or in the musician’s case, his or her instrument), is an important component of
enjoyable flow experiences:
The person whose attention is immersed in the environment becomes part of it – she participates in the system by linking herself to it through psychic energy. This, in turn, makes it possible for her to understand the properties of the system, so that she can find a better way to adapt to a problematic situation. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 205.)
The musician becomes one with the violin in a symbiotic partnership, when there are
no physical or mental blockages to distract from the attention given to the feedback 1 Cf Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 60. See also 4.4.7.
D
CF
CF-p
U-m
I
I
D-w
CF
A-e
A-e
A-e
SA-i
135
provided by this “system” (cf Havas, 1973: 77). The way in which the body is used
has a direct influence on the way the violin will respond, and the acoustical properties
of the instrument dictates the way in which it should be handled in order to obtain the
musical result desired. Only keen attention given to both the aural feedback and the
physical touch will enable the continual refinement of motor movements in relation to
the desired musical goal1.
Havas always relates the touch to the resulting quality of sound (1973: 113), and
stresses that a feeling of ease in the playing movements and good sound always go
together (1964: 19). The attitude to the instrument that she encourages in her pupils,
greatly increases sensitivity to this aural and tactile feedback. The violin is regarded
as being alive (Havas, 1973: 21), and its well-being is paramount at all times: it
complains with a scratchy tone when mistreated, and it responds with a beautiful tone
when it likes the way it is being touched (Havas, personal communication, Jul 2003).
As a result, a “whole new relationship develops with the violin” (Bonnici, 1988: 7).
The interaction between player and instrument becomes very intimate and responsive,
as the violin is no longer merely an inanimate object to be manipulated, but a living
partner in the act of making music.
The violinist’s experience of physical comfort and enjoyment is a very high priority in
the New Approach (Bonnici, 1988: 1), and the importance of this is supported by
Csikszentmihalyi’s research. He found that music can become a source of psychic
disorder instead of flow for pupils, if “too much emphasis is placed on how they
perform, and too little on what they experience” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 112).
In applying Csikszentmihalyi’s flow concept practically to playing an instrument,
Burzik (2003: 714) comes to many of the same conclusions as Havas, though
completely independently of her teaching, as he has never encountered the New
Approach (Burzik, personal communication, Sept 2003). Like Havas, he emphasizes
the importance of “consciously attuning to the quality of touch” at the contact points
with the instrument, which allows the hands and fingers to seem automatically to
1 Cf Gardner, 1985: 111, 276.
U
A-e
SA
KE; U-i
A-e
A-e
KE
T-g
T-n
SA-i
136
“fine-tune themselves to the requirements at these sound-forming points” (Burzik,
2003: 715).
Burzik, 2003: 715:
Sensitised fingertips convey a wonderful, fresh, malleable, even sensual feeling, forming a sharp contrast to a finger merely stopping the string as though nailed to the spot. Besides greater security of intonation this special quality of left hand touch has an immediate effect on tone production.
The similarities between Burzik’s teaching, which is specifically geared to achieving
flow, and Havas’s ideas1 concerning the left hand touch, are very clear from the above
citation. There are also deep parallels in philosophy regarding interferences: Burzik
(2003: 718) mentions various “inner dispositions” that get in the way of accessing the
flow-state, such as fear, over-ambition, impatience, and striving for perfection. In
Stage fright (1973), Havas deals extensively with these anxieties, giving very
practical advice for eliminating them, and in so doing, paving the way for the violinist
to enter into flow.
Csikszentmihalyi’s research revealed that a disciplined use of the body could lead to
“a joyous, self-forgetful involvement through concentration” (1990: 105), and also
that activities incorporating rhythmic movements can generate flow (1990: 99). The
New Approach emphasizes both a disciplined use of the body2 and the importance
and centrality of the rhythmic pulse3.
However, physical movements alone do not produce flow, as the mind will always be
involved as well: “flow cannot be a purely physical process: muscles and brain must
be equally involved” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990: 96). Havas (1992: 6) also stresses this
holistic aspect of flow: “for the player to experience the ‘magical’ quality in music,
the body, mind and spirit have to become a unified whole”.
From the above, it is patently clear that the New Approach “is an enormously strong
force which moulds one’s musical thoughts and physical prowess into a unified
1 Cf Havas: 1964: 76. See 4.4.4, 4.4.5 and 4.5.2. 2 See 4.4.3. 3 See 4.4.2.
A-e
SA-i
U-m
U-i
SA
U-m
EG
I; U-i
D-w
D-w
137
performing experience” (Kenneson, 1974: 10), leading to the blissful experience of
flow.
4.6 Summary and conclusion
Central to the New Approach, is the premise that the violin and the bow are
extensions of the living body. As the body is an instrument of expression that is
controlled sub-cortically (Hellebrandt, 1970: 429), it stands to reason that movements
relating to the instrument will be controlled sub-cortically in performance as well, if
there is to be no obstruction between hearing the music inwardly and the outer
physical action that is required to translate the musical intention into sound. Havas
achieves this through first preparing the body and the mind individually, and then co-
ordinating all the parts into a unified whole with a single, central point of control,
through which the player is able to release all his energy and musical imagination.
Through the use of the fundamental balances, a body free of tension, cortical
domination and interference is developed. The concept of a violin hold or bow hold is
eliminated, and an effortless handling of both instrument and bow are obtained (a)
through balance, and (b) by avoiding the opposition of the thumb, which leads to
reflexive grasping and interference from the manipulation of the fingers. Every
movement is reduced to the source of its motivation, enabling it to become part of a
self-propelled, co-ordinated whole, and so doing away with segmented movements
and thoughts.
Although the physical movements are far easier with the New Approach and lead to a
general feeling of well-being, the application of the method demands a high degree of
mental discipline (Havas, 1964: 2). As no physical action can take place without an
order from the mind, the mind is trained to give the right orders only to those basic
points which are the key positions and cues of the fundamental balances (Havas,
1964: 5).
The musical information is conceptualised and organised mentally before the violin is
used to express it, through rhythmically clapping, singing and miming the music away
from the instrument. The training of the mind includes the imaginative use of the
inner ear, as the sound should be a living conception for a violinist long before the
CF
D-w
D
PB
I
KE
R
KE
A
D-w
MW
D
138
fingers even touch the string. The pre-hearing of the sound and the sensory awareness
of the required touch before playing a note, eliminates “the long stages of mechanical
struggle with the fingers” (Havas 1964: 34). Every physical movement is musically
directed and there is no place for purely mechanical exercises in the New Approach.
The music is shaped through “the drama of the interval shapes” in the left hand finger
action. Feeling the rhythmic pulse, singing the music inwardly and directing it
through the note name to the left hand base knuckles, becomes the single point of
control, to which all other movements, including the bow stroke, respond as reflex
actions.
In addition to the sense of physical well-being that the New Approach brings about, it
also leads to a state of optimal experience, or flow, in which the body is so
responsive, and attention so focused, that the violinist is completely absorbed in the
act of communicating his musical thought through the instrument, without
interference.
It is clear that the New Approach is a vast subject, incorporating many diverse
elements in a holistic approach that addresses the physical, mental and emotional
aspects of playing the violin. Kenneson (1974: 93) is of the opinion that the potential
of the New Approach has not yet been fully realised, as the method itself is still
relatively young and the ideas “lend themselves to a seemingly unlimited use”.
Examining and applying these principles hold much promise for the integration of
mind, body and instrument in building an expressive technique.
SA
D-w
D
CF
KE
D-w; A
CF
139
Chapter 5
A Comparative study
5.1 Introduction
In reading through Chapters Three and Four, the many parallels between the
Alexander Technique and the New Approach will already be apparent, even though
the language and terminology used in the respective methods do not necessarily
correspond. The purpose of this chapter is to bring these parallels to light and to
clarify the conceptual equivalence between aspects of the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique.
As a broad introduction to the comparative study, the main features of the New
Approach (as described in 4.4) can be shown to resonate with the following
Alexandrian concepts, as defined in 3.3 and 3.4, and summarised in the ‘Framework
of key concepts’ in 3.5:
Table 5.1. Comparisons
The New Approach The Alexander Technique
4.4.1 Easy or impossible Use affects functioning (U)
4.4.2 Inside-outward playing Means-whereby (MW); Direction (D)
4.4.3 Mind over movement Direction (D)
4.4.4 The fundamental balances Postural balance (PB); Reflexes (R)
4.4.5 Touch Sensory awareness (SA)
4.4.6 The inner ear Direction (D)
4.4.7 Automation of technique Control and freedom (CF)
These parallels will be clarified in the following discussion.
5.2 Framework of key concepts
In order to have a constructive discussion on the parallels between the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach, the ‘Framework of key concepts’ will be used as
the context and outline for the rest of the chapter. Ideas and practises in the New
Approach with apparent similarity will be discussed in relation to the relevant
140
Alexander concepts, as set out in the individual frames in 3.5.2. This is a broad
summary, and by no means a comprehensive account of all the parallels to be found
between the two disciplines, which would be too numerous to recount in detail. (It
should also be remembered that this discussion is not intended to give a full
representation of the New Approach, for which the reader is referred back to Chapter
Four, and to Havas’s own writings.)
5.2.1 The background: use, primary control and sensory awareness
The New Approach essentially deals with the way in which a violinist uses his or her
body to translate musical thought through physical movement into sound. The method
identifies and eliminates faulty movements that lead to undesirable results, and
teaches an improved use through employing the fundamental balances1 and fostering
inside-outward playing. A balanced, dynamic stance with the violin, resulting in the
freedom of the head, neck and shoulders, is the foundation on which all other aspects
of technique rest, and sensory awareness is cultivated as an integral part of the
method.
5.2.1.1 Use affects functioning
The New Approach philosophy demonstrates profound congruence with the
Alexander principle that “use affects functioning” (Barlow, 1973: 91). The way the
body is used in playing the instrument will determine whether it is easy, or in fact,
impossible: when faulty movements are used, playing the violin becomes a struggle,
and no amount of practise will help unless the basics are improved (cf Havas, 1973:
136). All aspects of successful violin technique depend on a balanced use of the body,
and Havas takes great care to establish the fundamental balances right from the
beginning (Havas, 1964: 23).
Havas, 1964: 9:
…in order to understand this Approach fully one must realize the enormous difference that lies between the ‘elementary’ and the ‘fundamental’; and it is needless to say that nothing could be more fundamental than establishing an effortless balance of the violin- and bow-holds….Often have I traced the cause of difficulty of many (an advanced) violinist…to a conscious or subconscious anxiety about the violin- or bow-hold.
1 See 4.4.4.
U
D-w
I; U-m
U-i
MW
PC-i
SA
U
KE
U-m
MW
PB
U
141
Such anxiety invariably causes inappropriate tension that interferes with a balanced
use of the body, and the natural reflexes that make movement efficient and easy. For
instance, tension in the fingers of the bow hand, especially the thumb and index
finger, quickly spreads to the wrist, elbow and shoulder, interfering in the operation of
the arm “as one magnificently integrated system of levers” (Hellebrandt, 1970a: 429).
Motor learning difficulties are mostly due to such self-imposed constraints
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 365), and the aim of the New Approach is to identify and
eliminate these interferences. By disassociating the thumb and fingers of both the
right and left hands, opposition of the thumb and fingers are precluded and any
tendency to reflexive grasping eliminated (see 4.5.2).
Hellebrandt (1969: 277) concludes that Havas’s teaching devices “serve as key cues
capable of unlocking the neuromuscular machinery of the living body in ways which
greatly simplify the fundamentals of violin playing”, and are designed to put the body
into an optimal condition for learning the more refined playing skills (Hellebrandt,
1969: 363). In other words, by improving use, functioning is also improved: learning
the violin becomes easy once a pupil has been shown how “to release that admirable
repertoire of natural movements built into the neuromuscular apparatus of every
normal human being” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 363), i.e. movements based on the body’s
natural reflex systems.
It is clear that this is facilitated in the first instance through inhibiting interference
with the primary control, as the New Approach eliminates the concept of a violin hold
and the associated tensions in the neck and shoulders, and this will be discussed in
more detail 5.2.1.2. Other causes for misuse, as cited by both the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach, include: end-gaining, harmful habits, excessive
muscular effort and misconceptions, or faulty preconceived ideas. Faulty kinaesthesia
and lack of sensory awareness is another cause for misuse recognized by both
disciplines, and will be discussed in 5.2.1.3.
Both methods hold that attempting to improve functioning directly (i.e. end-gaining)
is counterproductive1. Havas (1961: 1) believes that any amount of practising while
1 See 3.3.2, and table 5.2.
U-m
R
U-m
U-m
I
R
KE
U-i
R
I; PC-m
I
PC-m
EG
SA-u
SA-l
EG
142
there is “physical strain in the mechanics of violin playing” is self-defeating, and
cannot bring about the improvement longed for. The New Approach does not teach
repetitive, mechanical exercises that would only serve to reinforce bad habitual
patterns, but rather seeks to eliminate the tensions and blockages that interfere with a
balanced, co-ordinated use of the body.
Havas, 1973: 127:
It cannot be underlined enough that if practising is based on the principles of co-ordination and the interplay of balances, one hour can achieve better results than six hours of mechanical practising could ever do.
The same principle is found in the Alexander Technique: “If a bad manner of use
exists….that same bad manner of use will be employed to perform these specific
exercises and these latter cannot therefore bring about any improvement in the
psycho-physical organism” (Griffith, as quoted in Jones, 1976: 85). Alexander also
proposed that instead of attempting to solve a problem in a localised, specific area of
the body, attention should be paid to one’s general muscular co-ordination (Barlow,
1973: 96). Likewise, instead of focusing on part-function1, the New Approach aims to
improve co-ordination through a natural, whole-body balance, where “each point of
balance is interlocked and interdependent of another” (Havas, 1964: 76).
In the discussion on the Alexander Technique, excessive muscular effort and
inappropriate tension was cited as a prime cause of misuse2. Similarly, Havas believes
that problems in violin playing are mostly due to the mistaken idea that some kind of
superimposed pressure or force is necessary in the playing movements (Havas, 1964:
2). Attempting to realize the desired musical result through conscious physical effort
merely results in unnecessary muscular tension, which contributes to stage fright
(Havas, 1973: 82). Musical communication can only take place through transmitting
one’s musical imagination and physical energy through an inside-outward, organic
rhythmic pulse, which in turn depends on the flexibility of all the joints, including
shoulder sockets, elbows, wrist and knees (Havas, 1973: 14). Any rigidity, such as
1 See 4.3.1. 2 See 3.3.2.
U-m
EG
I; U-m
U
U-m
EG
MW
EG
MW; PB
U-m
U-m
EG
U-m
MW
U-i
U-m
143
stiffness in the fingers, wrist or elbow, will block the flow of these energy impulses,
and result in malfunction, such as a trembling bowing arm (Havas, 1973: 29).
While the New Approach aims to eliminate unnecessary tension in the playing
movements, Havas (1973: 15) points out that freedom of movement is the ultimate
aim, and not relaxation, or flaccidity:
It is important not to confuse the concept of relaxation with movement. The word ‘relax’ is often used but not often enough understood….As violin playing consists mostly of purposeful, vigorous and strong actions, the desire to relax while realizing these actions can create serious conflict in one’s nervous system, because of trying to combine two actions which cannot be combined – such as being vigorous and enervated at the same time. It is essential that the significance of the natural, organic movements, with their inherent powers, are understood correctly and applied systematically. (Havas, 1973: 15.)
Havas’s view is entirely congruent with the Alexander Technique in this matter. De
Alcantara (1997: 16) indicates that good use of the self requires the right kind of
tension, which is “a prerequisite of dynamic, energetic, vital human endeavour”
(1997: 15). Neither the Alexander Technique nor the New Approach are concerned
with relaxation as such, but with eliminating (or inhibiting) faulty, mal-distributed
tension patterns that cause interference with optimal mental and physical functioning.
Alexander (as cited in Barlow, 1973: 96) suggested that the basic cause of misuse is
psychophysical, rooted in faulty preconceived ideas and misconceptions. A faulty idea
of an activity, or misconceptions as to how muscles and limbs work1, can lead to
misuse of the body and inefficient functioning. Havas also examines the
psychophysical causes of misuse, in order “to eliminate both physical and mental
obstacles” (1964: Introduction). Through the New Approach exercises, concepts and
beliefs around the handling of the instrument and other aspects of technique are
explored. While these misconceptions are common to many players (cf Kenneson,
1974: 11), each person’s pattern may vary. In working through the exercises with a
teacher’s guidance, a pupil’s specific tendencies are brought to light, and countered
through the use of the New Approach principles (cf Havas, 1961: 57).
1 See 3.4.2.
U-m
I
CF
U-m R
U
I
U-m
U-m
U-m
I; U-m
GM
D-I
144
The New Approach identifies visual misconception1 as a major cause of misuse in
playing the violin. The optical illusion that the fingerboard is excessively long or the
neck very thick causes anxiety, creating tension and discomfort in the left hand and
affecting its function. Misleading visual information can cause one to believe that the
hands or fingertips lead the playing movements, as they are directly in the line of
vision. This misconception results in unnatural movements that are contrary to the
physiological principles underlying the body’s functioning, and causes tension and
rigidity. The New Approach exercises are designed in such a way that one is made
aware of these unconscious beliefs and resulting tensions, in order to eliminate them.
Similar fallacies are recognized in applications of the Alexander Technique: De
Alcantara (1996: 25) identifies in one of his pupils an “end-gaining idea of controlling
visually something that should be controlled kinaesthetically (that is, by muscular
feel)”, which consequently triggers a pattern of total misuse of the self, negatively
affecting functioning.
Sometimes these misconceptions become accepted in conventional wisdom, and are
even taught in orthodox violin methods. One such example is the idea of a vertical
left-hand finger action, which derives from the fingertips appearing to do the work,
even though the actual source of the movement is in the base knuckles. Havas
believes that the freedom of the thumb will remain elusive as long as there is vertical
pressure from the fingers on the fingerboard, a danger inherent in the very concept of
a vertical finger action (Havas, 1973: 43). In seeking to identify the actual (and often
invisible) source of each movement2, Havas eliminates these misconceptions and
teaches a very clearly reasoned means whereby use can be improved.
It is clear that both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach recognize that
human beings function as a psychophysical whole, and seek to address the mental as
well as physical aspects in order to solve problems, and improve functioning3. Barlow
(1973: 125) points out that it is not easy to separate the physical and psychological
reasons that cause muscular dystonia, as the way we construe our surroundings and
experiences “is a psycho-physical act, in which Mind cannot be separated from
1 See 4.4.2. 2 I.e. the fundamental balances; see 4.4.4. 3 See 3.3.2 and 4.3.2.
U-m
SA-u
U-m
EG
U-m
I
EG
U-m
EG
U-m
MW
I
MW; U-i
U-i
U-m
145
Muscle for long.” Havas (1968: 32) also finds “the interplay of the physical and
psychological reactions a never-endingly fascinating study”, and points out that the
continuous co-ordination of natural, organic movements is able to release and control
both aspects. Negative mental attitudes often arise as a result of physical distortions,
and releasing physical blockages therefore has a positive influence on mental anxiety
(Havas, 1973: 127). The following statement by Barlow, as a proponent of the
Alexander Technique, confirms her view:
Barlow, 1973: 125:
The body is not simply system of mechanical levers, to be adjusted into different positions like a mechanical crane. It is a subtle organ of expression, in which emotional states modify and are modified by muscular tension states.
Muscular tension states frequently occur in situations where there is emotional strain
(Barlow, 1973: 125). In order to obtain a free and balanced use of the psychophysical
organism, therefore, it is essential that emotional and mental anxiety be addressed
together with their physical manifestations. This is precisely what the New Approach
aims to do (cf Havas, 1973: 16).
While certain individual master teachers may pay attention to more than just the
physical aspects of violin technique, most structured violin methods do not. Perkins
found that, in comparison with the Rolland and Suzuki methods, only the New
Approach “consistently addresses the needs of the whole individual” (Perkins, 1995:
202) in also dealing with the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of violin playing,
and their impact on personal musical expression and growth.
In Stage fright (1973), Havas made an in-depth study of the causes of anxiety. In each
case, the causes for the physical, mental or social anxiety are examined, followed by
their relative cures in the form of specific exercises and advice. In examining and
exposing these various causes of misuse, they can be inhibited and eliminated, and
replaced by a reasoned out means whereby a better psychophysical functioning can be
obtained.
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From the above debate, it can be seen that the New Approach answers to all the indicators for
the Alexander principle that use affects functioning, as discussed in 3.3.2, and summarised in
table 3.1. Use is not improved through attempting to control functioning directly, but by
identifying and eliminating the specific causes for misuse, which are described in similar terms
in both methods, and relate to our functioning as a psychophysical whole.
Use is improved in the New Approach through:
1. eliminating interference with the primary control, by doing away with the concept
of a specific violin hold and establishing a balanced stance with the instrument
2. eliminating interference with the natural reflex systems of the body, by doing
away with excessive muscular effort and tension, and unlocking the use of natural,
organic movements that are based on balance
3. changing conditions that allow harmful habits to exist, by eliminating physical
and mental blockages and misconceptions relating to violin technique, and the mental
and physical re-education of the pupil
4. following a means-whereby principle, in a carefully reasoned out and structured
programme, to establish the fundamental balances and organize the co-ordination of
the mind and body in building an expressive technique
This results in an improved use, in which the freedom and balance of body and mind forms the
basis of effective performance. Havas (1973: 134) stresses that the playing of the violin never
presents difficulties “once one requires sufficient skill in the actual handling of the instrument
without any physical or mental blockages.”
Table 5.2 gives a selection of statements regarding use that show close parallels between the
New Approach and the Alexander Technique.
147
Table 5.2. Comparisons: Use The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “The Alexander Principle says that USE will always affect FUNCTIONING” (Barlow, 1973: 91). • While there are many different ways of using the body mechanically at any time, for each situation there is a particular body use that will allow for the best functioning (Barlow, 1973: 67). • Faulty muscular tension patterns lead to unreliability of performance, especially in activities where a special skill is required (Barlow, 1973: 69).
• Through a technique based on natural balance, hidden tensions can be resolved in order to enable any player to function at his optimal neuro-muscular ability (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92). • “Given the opportunity of learning how to use the right movements, everybody could learn to play the violin easily and well in a surprisingly short time” (Havas, 1968: 10). • “An ugly sound simply means that the violin is maltreated and that erroneous limb and muscle actions are used” (Havas, 1964: 2).
• A lot of mis-use is caused through end-gaining, i.e. being so focused on attaining a particular objective that you do not pay attention to the way you are using yourself in the process. End-gaining bypasses the reasoning brain in order to satisfy the stimulus to act as soon as possible; it is an eagerness to be right, and does not allow feedback other than from the desired end. • “…it is more important to take care of the body than to get the passage right…The performer inhibits the habits that have been created by the ever-present drive to attain a goal. By eliminating these habits, he or she changes the movement patterns that reinforce getting it done at any cost” (Stein, 1999).
• The New Approach is designed to eliminate end-gaining attitudes that cause mental and physical blockages in playing the violin, such as the “neurosis of compulsive playing in order to get better” (Havas, 1973: 80), the anxiety caused by competitively striving for success (Havas, 1973: 7), and using conscious physical effort to obtain musical results (Havas, 1973: 82). • “Most violinists are so anxious to get on, somehow or other, with the playing during their practise, that in spite of the increasing symptoms of tension and fatigue, they press on, quite unable to apply any curative measures” (Havas, 1973: 48).
• Through a means-whereby principle, focus is taken away from the ultimate end and placed on each individual step of the process, thus promoting good use. Bad habitual responses are inhibited along the way and the intermediate steps required are consciously directed against a backdrop of heightened sensory awareness (Jones, 1976: 195).
• The New Approach follows a means-whereby principle through: - tracing each movement to its organic source - first establishing the fundamental balances together with their required mental control - heightening sensory awareness through touch - internalising the music away from the instrument, before co-ordinating it all in an expressive impulse governed by the rhythmic pulse and the inner musical voice.
• Re-education procedures usually fail because they do not “take into consideration the wrong mental attitudes that (are) inextricably bound up with wrong physical conditions” (Jones, 1976: 20).
• “The aim is to eliminate both physical and mental obstacles so that through a relaxed and controlled co-ordination, the player may be able to release the full force of his musical imagination” (Havas, 1964: Introduction).
148
5.2.1.2 Primary control
Although Havas does not overtly make the optimal relationship of the head, neck and
back the central focus of her method in the way that the Alexander Technique does,
all aspects of the New Approach work together to eliminate interference with the
primary control, and to enhance its functioning. By eliminating the concept of a
violin-hold, the New Approach inhibits a very specific and debilitating cause of
misuse of the primary control that is prevalent among violinists1.
The violin and viola are the only western instruments to be held under the chin, and
with this comes an increased potential for interference with the delicate balance of the
head and neck (cf McCullough, 1996). One’s general functioning is greatly affected
by misuse of the head and neck, as interference with the primary control is always
reflected as misuse elsewhere in the body (Barlow, 1973: 40). The following two
excerpts from A New Approach to violin playing (1961) make it abundantly clear that
Havas clearly recognises this fact:
Havas, 1961: 10:
All good teachers agree that a condition of looseness is imperative. The question is, just how do we achieve this? With our chins pressing into the chin-holder, our left arm contorted sometimes beyond human endurance, our fingers taxed beyond their natural capacity, I do not see how it is physically possible to maintain a loose, relaxed position for very long.
Havas, 1961: 16:
…it is of the greatest importance not to grab the violin with the chin. For not only will this make a violinist uncomfortable and insecure but as soon as the lower jaw begins to grip, a feeling of stiffness is established, especially in the back of the neck. Indeed as soon as one place becomes stiff the feeling of cramp spreads like wildfire with all the usual disastrous results.
The violin-hold is closely connected to the stance: Havas (1973: 18) calls it “one and
the same thing”. Any tension or anxiety in holding the instrument will cause rigidity
throughout one’s body (Havas, 1973: 18), interfering with postural balance. Havas
believes that it is the fear of dropping the violin that causes this anxiety and the
consequent physical rigidity (Havas, 1973: 18). In the light of the Alexander
1 Cf Havas 1973: 18. See 4.4.4.
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Technique, it can also be said that any discomfort in holding the instrument will cause
misuse of the primary control, interfering with the postural reflexes and leading to
mal-distributed tension patterns in the body (cf McCullough, 1996).
Havas (1973: 28) often refers to the gypsies’ unassailable bodily well-being in playing
their instruments, which includes the liberty of the head in being able to come away
from the chinrest, as well as an organic, rhythmic pulse that involves the whole body1.
She believes that it is only “this total interplay of motion and balance” that can
eliminate the rigidity that blocks the communication of one’s musical imagination and
physical energy through the instrument (Havas, 1973: 14).
Havas, 1973: 18:
…the first step towards the release of all possible tension, is to establish a self-generating motion and balance (in the form of an organic rhythmic pulse) in the stance itself without even thinking of the violin.
It is significant that Havas recognizes that the “the first step towards the release of all
possible tension” (1973: 18) depends on the balanced freedom of the whole body2,
and begins with eliminating “the tensions connected with the violin hold” (1973: 19),
i.e. tension in the jaw, neck and shoulder in holding the violin. In other words, she
first establishes a balanced use of the total locomotor pattern3, by eliminating
interference with its central part, the co-ordination of the head, neck and back (cf De
Alcantara, 1997: 26).
The Alexander Technique teaches that by conditioning the total pattern, the partial
patterns will look after themselves (De Alcantara, 1997: 33). In the New Approach,
part function is also derived from the function of the whole4, and is dependent on first
establishing a balanced, dynamic stance, thereby “freeing the shoulders, arms, wrists
and fingers to follow their own natural reflex actions” (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968:
86).
1 See 4.2.2. 2 See 4.4.4. 3 See 3.3.3. 4 See 4.5.1.
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It is clear that when Havas mentions “the all-over perfection of our human
mechanism” as the only factor that can ensure a completely free co-ordination in
violin playing (Havas, 1973: 28), she is in fact referring to optimal use of the primary
control, which is the “mechanism of the total pattern” (De Alcantara, 1997: 26) with
its integrating effect on the coordination of the body as whole (De Alcantara, 1997:
27). This becomes even clearer in considering Dr. Hellebrandt’s assessment of the
biomechanical rationale of the New Approach. (It should be remembered that the
terminology and biomechanical insight in the following discussion is not Havas’s
own, but that of a scientist seeking to evaluate the New Approach teaching practises.)
Hellebrandt, 1969: 305:
The autonomous equilibration of gravitational stresses by appropriately modulated variation in the tensions exerted by antigravity muscles is the first of the natural balances to engage the attention of the violin pupil. Once understood and experienced, he learns quickly to rely on automatic governors to compensate for the biomechanical effects of willed changes in the relationships of body parts…he permits the wisdom of a superbly automated body to select the one best way to implement the desired act.
Any interference with the primary control causes interference with the antigravity
reflexes, thereby disturbing postural balance (cf Jones, 1976: 144). By eliminating any
downward pressure of the chin on the chinrest1, the “set or fixation” of the head is
inhibited, so that the improved distribution of muscle tone throughout the body brings
about better coordination and more control (cf Jones, 1976: 179), and the postural
reflexes are allowed to operate without interference.
Hellebrandt (1969: 305) asserts that experiments performed in her laboratory
demonstrated Havas’s stance “to be the most stable of all postures”. She mentions that
the spine elongates in the Havas stance, and the base of the neck pulls back
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 305) while the head drops forward onto the chin rest “with a
straightforward motion restricted to the joint between the base of the skull and the
first vertebrae (atlanto-occipital joint)” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307). This is virtually an
exact description of the optimal functioning of the primary control, as defined in the
Alexander Technique (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 31, 61).
1 See 4.4.4.
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Havas (1964: 6) also emphasises that the neck should not be stretched when making
contact between the jaw and chinrest. Hellebrandt (1969: 307) points out that
stretching the neck would result in a physiological dilemma, as two opposing neck
reflexes would be stimulated at the same time, i.e. cervical spine ventroflexion
(undesirable) as opposed to atlanto-occipital ventroflexion (desirable). She notes that
it “is remarkable that changes as subtle and little understood as these, were
discernable to Havas and adapted as practical training devices useful to the violinist in
acquiring a natural head hold” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307).
The dynamic posture and stance of the New Approach also eliminates one of the other
specific causes for misuse of the primary control, namely the distorting influence of
the shoulders and upper arms (cf Barlow, 1973: 42). Hellebrandt (1969: 305)
concludes:
The Havas stance…puts the shoulder girdle into the position required to establish the natural balances demanded for the suspended elevation of the arms. This is an exquisitely precise total body adjustment which positions every anatomical part in ways facilitatory to the performance of the motor acts required in violin playing. (Hellebrandt, 1969: 305.)
Many of the muscles that attach to the head, shoulder girdle and upper back overlap,
so that any “involuntary clamping of the violin between the chin and an elevated
shoulder” will interfere with the relationship of the head, neck, and back, and impede
the functioning of the shoulder joints (Hellebrandt, 1969: 305). “This poses a
problem for the violinist since the shoulder joints must be free to move without
restraint if right and left hand functions are to be performed effectively” (Hellebrandt,
1969: 307). A pupil is therefore made aware right from the beginning that discrete
movements in the shoulder joints are possible, even with the violin resting lightly on
the collarbone and the head balancing on the chinrest (Hellebrandt, 1969: 307).
By encouraging one to “forget the image of the violin hold altogether”, Havas (1973:
23) facilitates the inhibition of faulty preconceived ideas regarding the violin hold, so
that a new, balanced relationship with the instrument can be experienced. As harmful
habitual patterns associated with the violin hold are eliminated along with the very
concept of such a hold (Havas, 1973: 27), the instrument can be integrated into the
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balanced use of the body as a whole, to become an extension of the expressive, living
organism (cf Hellebrandt, 1970: 473).
Sensory awareness plays an important role in improving the primary control1 in
holding the violin. Due to a lack of sensory awareness, the degree of clamping down
on the chinrest, with the consequent tension in the neck, is often not noticed, or it is
regarded as being inevitable (cf Havas, 1973: 14). Havas recognizes that unreliability
of sensory awareness (i.e. concepts that have become linked to maladaptive
experiences2) can make it very difficult to let go of one’s idea of an activity. A
violinist may be so accustomed to “gripping the violin”, that he may find it
“impossible to imagine, and therefore to experience, this light feeling of arm, violin
and head, and even more impossible to accept the concept that there should be, in fact,
no violin-hold at all…” (Havas, 1973: 24).
Havas actively cultivates sensory awareness in relation to the instrument, and suggests
that the thought that the chin-rest is made of silk and satin, feeling soft to the touch,
can help to elicit a corresponding feeling of softness in the body (Havas, 1973: 23,
24). In contrast to this softness, the hardness and resistance in the contact between
body and instrument, brought about by clamping down on the chin-rest, can be
recognised and avoided, thereby inhibiting misuse of the primary control3.
Other specific causes of misuse of the primary control (as cited in table 3.2) that the
New Approach deals with, include stress, anxiety and fear, which all manifest in
negative thoughts that can cause a physical pulling down in the body (cf Dawley,
2001: 3). Havas examines the causes for such anxiety, and seeks to counteract
negative thought processes and fears with a constructive, positive mindset (cf Havas,
1973: 91; 127)4. Instead of words and images that “arouse tension and anxiety”, she
seeks to use those that “create ease and flexibility” (Havas, 1973: 96).
1 See 3.3.3. 2 See 3.3.4. 3 Cf Jones, 1976: 151. See 4.4.5 and 5.2.1.3. 4 See 4.3.2, 4.4.2 and 5.2.1.1.
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Havas, 1973: 99:
…it has been proven over and over again that if the player learns to activate his imagination with positive ideas, his self-doubt tends to disappear and then he obtains the desired physical release as well.
It is clear that the New Approach answers to all three of the guidelines that De Alcantara (1997:
34) gives for solving problems in any activity (see 3.3.3 and table 3.2):
1. The practises of the New Approach, which focus on establishing an organic movement
pattern in the body, enhance the functioning of the primary control
2. Even though the teacher does not use his or her hands directly to prevent the pupil from
contracting the neck, the New Approach no violin-hold and balanced stance actively
prevents interference with the primary control
3. None of the procedures in the New Approach cause interference with the primary control
The New Approach deals with the same general and specific causes for misuse of the head-neck
relationship as cited in the Alexander Technique (see table 3.2). These include: (a) faulty
preconceived ideas regarding the violin hold that lead to (b) harmful habitual patterns; (c)
faulty sensory appreciation and (d) lack of sensory awareness (in relation to contact with the
instrument, as well as general tension in the body) that is often caused by (d) end-gaining, i.e.
being so focused on getting on with playing the violin that no thought is given to the way that
the body is used in the process. Specific causes of interference with the primary control, such as
tension in the neck brought about by the violin hold, the distorting influence of the upper
arms, and anxious thoughts that cause a pulling down in the body, are all eliminated in the
New Approach. By first establishing a dynamic, balanced stance with the violin, interference
with the postural reflexes are inhibited, so that the other reflex systems in the body can be
integrated and restored to operate effectively. By relying on “an instinctive and organic
movement pattern, combined with the conception of ‘let happen’” (Havas, 1973: 28), muscular
harmony is experienced throughout the body, and the effortless, instinctive co-ordination of
the body as a whole is ensured. In this way, a relatively simple control over the complex
activity of violin playing is made possible.
Table 5.3 gives a selection of statements regarding the primary control, i.e. the mechanism of
the total locomotor pattern, which show close parallels between the two techniques.
154
Table 5.3. Comparisons: Primary control
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• The primary control is the mechanism of the total locomotor pattern, and it has an integrating effect on the coordination of the body as whole (De Alcantara, 1997: 26).
• “The only factor which can ensure a completely free co-ordination in violin playing is the over-all perfection of our human mechanism” (Havas, 1973: 28).
• “The mis-use of the head and neck is prior to misuse elsewhere, according to (Alexander’s) principle. Mis-use elsewhere can only be adequately dealt with after the correction of mis-use of the head and neck” (Barlow, 1973: 40).
• “As soon as the lower jaw begins to grip, a feeling of stiffness is established, especially in the back of the neck. Indeed as soon as one place becomes stiff the feeling of cramp spreads like wildfire with all the usual disastrous results” (Havas, 1961: 16).
• All partial patterns are regulated by the total pattern, or antigravity reflexes. “Condition the total pattern, and the partial patterns will look after themselves” (De Alcantara, 1997: 33). • “The orientation of the head influences the organization of the whole organism” (De Alcantara, 1997: 27).
• Thinking about each separate action only serves to inhibit the body’s natural reflex actions, causing neuro-muscular complications (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86). • The New Approach is based on natural movements that are gestalt entities, consisting of “many muscles embracing the integrated use of the body as a whole” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477).
• The region at the base of the neck, known as the hump, is a “veritable maelstrom of muscular co-ordination” (Barlow, 1973: 42). The activities of the shoulders and upper-arms exert a distorting influence in this area, and the effects of stress and tension also accumulate in the muscles in this region.
• “The Havas stance also puts the shoulder girdle into the position required to establish the natural balances demanded for the suspended elevation of the arms…an exquisitely precise total body adjustment which positions every anatomical part in ways facilitatory to the performance of the motor acts required in violin playing” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 305).
• Some thoughts cause a downward pull in the body, muscle tension and tight joints. Other thoughts cause physical release and lightness (Dawley, 2001: 3).
• “It has been proven over and over again that if the player learns to activate his imagination with positive ideas, his self-doubt tends to disappear and then he obtains the desired physical release as well” (Havas, 1973: 99).
• “Undo the misuses of your head, neck, and back, and much that is right, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable will follow of its own accord” (De Alcantara, 1996: 77).
• “Natural balance can do nothing but facilitate the optimum neuro-muscular function of any player, whatever his body type (or) habitual posture…” (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92).
155
5.2.1.3 Sensory awareness
De Alcantara, 1997: 165:
Only an improvement in the use of the whole self – an improvement which depends in every instance on a change in the relationship between the head, neck, and back – will automatically entail progress in sensory awareness.
In the light of the discussion in 5.2.1.1 and 5.2.1.2, it is patently clear that the New
Approach increases sensory awareness, along with use, through eliminating
interference with the primary control and promoting the balanced, “integrated use of
the body as a whole” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477). It has also been demonstrated that the
New Approach re-educates harmful mental attitudes that have become “inextricably
bound up with the wrong physical conditions” (Jones, 1976: 20)1. The new sensory
experiences brought about by the New Approach exercises (with the teacher’s
guidance), greatly facilitate this process of breaking through the “vicious circle of
faulty experience and faulty conception” (De Alcantara, 1997: 44), which is kept
closed through faulty sensory awareness2.
Havas (1973: 34) found that many players are so used to inappropriate tension in the
playing movements “that they are not even conscious of it”, and even if they feel that
something is not right, “they are not aware of what it is”. The New Approach practice
of miming the desired playing movements without the violin, greatly increase
kinaesthetic awareness. When the movements are repeated with the instrument, faulty
tension patterns that cause interference in co-ordination are recognised, and can be
inhibited (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 91)3.
The reliability of sensory awareness depends on freedom from unnecessary tension in
the body: “The freer a body part is, the better able it is to sense accurately what it is
doing” (De Alcantara, 1997: 42). By eliminating rigidity and cultivating the “total
interplay of motion and balance” (Havas, 1973: 14) in the body as a whole, the New
Approach therefore significantly increases the reliability of sensory awareness.
1 See 5.2.1.2, 5.2.1.1 and 5.2.1.2. 2 See 3.3.4. 3 See 4.5.1.
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De Alcantara (1997: 43) notes that misuse always causes a distortion of sensory
perception. Havas (1973: 72) also recognizes that any rigidity in the body will prevent
a “spontaneous reaction in our sensory perception”. It is not only kinaesthetic
feedback that is distorted by unnecessary tension in the body, but also aural feedback,
with detrimental effect on the violinist’s intonation. If the finger is pressing too hard
into the string, it will be unable to respond instantaneously to the aural feedback, so
that the “ear eventually stops its corrective demands” (Havas, 1973: 41). When the
aural-tactile connection is undermined in this way, it inevitably leads to great anxiety
with regard to intonation, and blocks one’s creativity1.
According to Havas (1973: 54), the body’s tactile response to the instrument is one of
the prime causes of the rigidity that hampers performance2. The body’s tactile
sensitivity “is quick to respond to the rigid hardness of wood it encounters” (Havas
1973: 54) and this causes many of the problems of tension and rigidity that violinists
struggle with (Kenneson, 1974: 11). This problem is exacerbated further by a lack of
sensory awareness, which Havas (1973: 56) attributes to the fact that the places of
physical contact with the instrument “are not in line with our field of vision”. This is
entirely congruent with the view expressed by Jones (1996: 180), that most people do
not pay much attention to sensory feedback, and are apt rather to trust the feedback
from their other senses, such as vision3.
However, awareness of kinaesthetic feedback is crucial in all aspects of developing
technique. The New Approach places great emphasis on nurturing sensory awareness
through touch, in order to eliminate the tensions inherent in contact with the
instrument, and to increase awareness of kinaesthetic and tactile feedback. Many of
the ways in which this is accomplished, have been described in 4.4.5. Other examples
include the following: she advises the pupil to rub the base joints of the left hand
fingers gently, in order to increase awareness of the motivating balance for the finger
action (Havas, 1964: 34). By pulsing with the left hand fingertips on the back of the
right hand, it is possible to identify the “sensitive and mobile pulsation” needed in the
touch of the finger on the string (1964: 44). Transferring the quality of touch that one
1 See 4.4.5. 2 See 4.4.5. 3 See 3.3.4.
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would use on one’s own neck to the neck of the instrument (Havas, 1973: 99), further
helps to develop the soft, sensitive kind of touching that is needed for the feedback of
rich sensory information. The playing movements are continually adjusted in response
to such feedback, so that the musical intent of the performer may be conveyed
precisely:
Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477:
The tone desired and inwardly heard is literally sought by infinitesimal shifting movements of the finger involved. These keep alive the inputs from extremely sensitive touch and pressure end-organs located in the fingertips and send a shower of sensory impulses inward…The richness of the sensory input thus evoked and fed back to the arousal system in the brain stem, the limbic lobe and the neocortex, drives the motor centres, continually modulates the response of the muscles, and gives warmth and vitality to the tone produced.
It is clear that the New Approach, like the Alexander Technique, substantially increases
conscious awareness of kinaesthetic feedback, especially with regard to the relationship
between the body and the instrument. This increased sensory awareness makes it possible to
notice and inhibit interfering tensional patterns in the body as they arise. The New Approach
fulfils all of the following conditions for good use, as specified by De Alcantara (1997: 194) in
the following excerpt:
Good use entails reliable sensory awareness, the ability to listen to yourself accurately, and the ability to gauge tension, effort and movement. (De Alcantara, 1997: 194.)
Reliability of sensory awareness is assured in the New Approach through eliminating
interference with the primary control, as well as any other rigidity in the body. Sensory
awareness is increased through creating awareness of the body’s response to the instrument,
and consciously fostering a soft and flexible touch. Lack of sensory awareness and relying on
the other senses (especially the visual), instead of critically examining feelings of tension and
weight, are recognized in the New Approach as major causes of misuse. The New Approach
exercises, the teacher’s guidance and the importance of touch, all bring about new sensory
experiences that help to rehabilitate the link between conception and experience.
The statements in table 5.4 illustrate the congruence in philosophy between the New Approach
and the Alexander Technique regarding sensory awareness.
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Table 5.4. Comparisons: Sensory awareness
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• It is a common misconception that all that is necessary to change a harmful habit, is to practise an improved way of moving, once it has been pointed out (Dewey, as cited in Jones, 1976: 101).
• “We all know we should not be rigid. We would all like to have a mobile, flexible, and responsive left hand...But we also know that, alas, the hand more often than not, refuses to oblige…” (Havas 1973: 54).
• “It has often been said that our senses deceive us...Often it can be shown that a person is doing something quite different from what he thinks he is doing” (Jones, 1976: 183).
• “The trouble is that people are apt to think they are loosening their hand with a continuous vibrato while in fact very often they are stiffening it” (Havas, 1964: 35).
• “Misuse, in other words, always causes a distortion of sensory perception” (De Alcantara, 1997: 43).
• Rigidity in the body “prevents spontaneous reaction in our sensory perception” (Havas, 1973: 72).
• “The amount of kinesthetic information conveyed is in indirect proportion to the force used in conveying it” (Jones, 1976: 81).
• The lightness and resilience of the touch allows for the feedback of rich sensory information, through which movements are continually adjusted (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477).
• “The chief difficulty lies in the fact that we are not used to making kinaesthetic observations and prefer to accept the evidence of our other senses…rather than critically examine our feelings of tension and weight” (Jones, 1976: 180).
• “Most of us are not aware of these contacts because they are not in line with our field of vision. But wherever these contacts may happen to be, the ‘touch’… should consciously be softened…as if stroking something soft, like silk or satin” (Havas, 1973: 56).
• Alexander demonstrated that “the proprioceptive system can be brought under conscious control, and can be educated to carry to the motor centres the stimulus which is responsible for the muscular activity which brings about the manner of working (use) of the mechanism of correct posture” (Coghill, as cited in De Alcantara, 1996: 41).
• The continuous stream of sensory input is the “ultimate source of all willed movements” and also the means whereby these movements are continually refined, whether the sensory feedback reaches conscious awareness or not: “It is the patterns of these exteroceptive and proprioceptive directives which must be learnt, not the patterns of movement” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477).
159
5.2.2 The intervention
The New Approach provides an intervention that effectively eliminates the negative
conditions in a pupil’s body that allow bad technical habits to exist. By reconditioning
a pupil’s use, through a whole body technique based on natural balance, conditions
are created that allow for ease and reliability of movement, as well as increased
musical expression. Through touch and guided movement, a pupil is given new
sensory experiences that enable him or her to recognize and eliminate rigidity in the
body. Inhibiting the mental and physical causes of misuse (that are identified with the
teacher’s guidance), along with carefully worked out directions for improved use, is
the means whereby change is brought about in the New Approach.
5.2.2.1 Guided movement
While it can only be through a direct experience of the New Approach lessons that the
actual degree and role of guided movement in the method can be evaluated1, there are
sufficient examples in the New Approach literature from which inferences can be
drawn in this regard.
In all her books, but especially in The twelve lesson course (1964) and Stage fright
(1973), Havas gives a very comprehensive account of the procedures whereby the
individual balances are established. The most common tendencies of misuse among
violinists are described, together with detailed guidelines for improving use. She
carefully points out the possible errors that could be made in the process, along with
frequent injunctions to check for flexibility in the joints and muscles (Havas, 1973:
45–47). However, she also emphasises that it is the actual experience of the improved
use that is of relevance, and not merely a description of the procedures (Havas, 1961:
18; Hellebrandt, 1969: 305).
Havas, 1961: 18:
…it is not enough to say ‘relax, ‘loosen up’. Such a direction becomes of real value only when every step towards achieving relaxation and looseness has been so clearly explained and experienced that it would seem ridiculous to do anything else.
1 See Chapter Six.
I
U-m
PB
KE; U-i
GM
SA-i; I
I; U-m
D; U-i
MW
MW
PB; U-m
D-I; U-i
U-m
U-i
D
160
In other words, Havas recognises that words by themselves are not effective in
conveying the necessary sensory information (cf Barlow, 1973: 190), and that it is
only possible to know the desired movement kinaesthetically through actually
experiencing it (cf Jones, 1976: 102). Havas (1961: 3) agrees that it is not possible to
learn to play the violin from a set of written instructions, without a teacher. Her books
were not written to replace the teacher-pupil relationship, but merely to be a guide to
the New Approach principles. The teacher’s guidance is indispensable, in order to
lead a pupil to an experience of freedom and flexibility in the body.
Havas, 1961: 59:
…the first thing a teacher must do…is to establish a condition of ‘looseness’ throughout the body of the student. It is important to make him realise without holding the violin or the bow, just what a feeling of looseness means. Some of them have been so tense for so long, without even knowing it, that they have no idea of what being really relaxed is like.
While teaching, Havas often uses her hands to touch a pupil, in order to gauge the
degree of tension or flexibility in the joints and muscles (Hellebrandt, 1969: 365).
Hellebrandt (1969: 365) considers Havas’s way of using touch to be a “valuable and
highly suggestive” learning cue in itself. Stevens (1996: 115) concurs that “touch aids
perception” and increases alertness, as “nerve cells specialised for sensing touch
contribute to proprioception and give important background help for conscious
movements” (Stevens, 1996: 116). The way that touch is used both in the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach, enables the pupil to feel more accurately what his
or her body is doing (cf Stevens, 1996: 116).
Jones postulates that the “amount of kinesthetic information conveyed is in indirect
proportion to the force used in conveying it” (Jones, 1976: 81). It is through the
quality of touch in the Alexander teacher’s hands that a corresponding softness in the
pupil’s body is elicited1. The soft, sensitive touch developed in the New Approach,
demonstrates a profound correlation with this principle. Fostering the image of silk
and satin in touching the instrument (Havas, 1973: 61) helps to evoke a soft response
in the pupil’s body in its contact with the instrument. Havas even uses the lightness of
her breath to impart sensory information to the pupil: 1 See 3.3.5.
SA-i
GM
GM SA-l
GM-t
GM-t
SA-i
SA-i
GM
GM-t
GM-t
161
Havas, 1973: 99:
…for many players the weightless, wing-like sensation in the arm…becomes much more real when I emphasize the lightness by blowing against the inside of my own upper arm (in the violin bow-hold position) which instantly responds with a sideways swing. Almost invariably the player’s arm (which may have been as rigid as a board before) will respond in the same way when it is blown against.
Touch is used in yet another way in the New Approach: as the pupil rests a hand on
the teacher while he or she plays, sensory information about a particular movement is
conveyed to them directly through their hands. For instance, a pupil learns a great deal
from feeling that left hand fingers can be so loose that they can easily be lifted off the
string or bow (Havas, 1973: 113). Children also learn through having to correct the
teacher, by pointing out when his or her movements are (deliberately) tense, or the
fingers are too stiff to lift off the string (Havas, 1973: 113). In these exercises, the
amount of tension or freedom in the touch is always related to the resulting quality of
sound. Stevens (1996: 66) gives an example of using a similar procedure, in teaching
a student who was unable to inhibit his own stimulus to action during an Alexander
lesson: “the way through for us was to let him feel me as I acted in the way he did and
to compare that with when I stopped and gave directions”.
The purpose of the New Approach exercises is to bring about new sensory
experiences in relation to the instrument. For instance, as the pupil inhibits his own
faulty conditioned idea of what the violin- or bow hold entails, he gains a new
experience of relating lightly and effortlessly with the instrument, through the
teacher’s guidance in establishing the no-bow and no-violin hold (cf Havas, 1973: 24).
This amply illustrates the truth of De Alcantara’s assertion that it is “the guiding touch
that breaks the vicious circle of an incorrectly perceived experience colouring
perception”, which in turn predetermines experience (De Alcantara, 1997: 86). The
following excerpts demonstrate various ways in which a New Approach teacher may
guide a pupil’s movements, in order to impart new sensory information:
Hellebrandt, 1970a: 425:
Havas arranges the fingers on the bow…The fingers hang loosely on the stick while Havas guides the bow through its full length on each of the four strings…Individual fingers may be lifted passively without affecting the
GM-t
U-m GM-t
GM-t
SA
GM-t
GM-t
SA-i
I
SA-i
GM-h
GM-h
SA-u
GM-h
GM-h
162
security of the hold. Havas does this frequently while the basic pattern of the right hand is being established.
Hellebrandt, 1969: 305:
The teacher’s functions were, first, to make the objective (the violin hold, for example) vividly clear; and second, to facilitate the response through positioning or the introduction of specific key cues capable of potentiating what comes naturally.
Hellebrandt, 1969: 361:
Briskly, momentary pressure is applied by the teacher to the triceps tendon located just above and behind the elbow joint, in alternation with a similar tap to the biceps tendon on the opposite side of the articulation. This evokes a succession of quick reflex movements…The elbow opens fully and then closes in response to tendon stimulation…Once the muscle and joint sensation has been experienced, the pupil activates the triceps and biceps muscles voluntarily in synchrony with tendon stimulation, and then finally, does this alone without potentiating proprioceptive facilitation.
From the last quotation, it is clear that the teacher initiates the movement in order to
give the pupil an experience of improved use based on the body’s reflexes, as opposed
to movement that is controlled through muscular effort. Facilitating reflexive
movement is also precisely what the Alexander Technique aims to do (cf Jones, 1976:
7, 31, 52), once again demonstrating the close congruence between the two methods.
It is very clear that the New Approach, like the Alexander Technique, is intimately concerned
with re-educating the body on a sensory level. Verbal instructions and explanations acquire a
depth of kinaesthetic meaning through the various ways in which touch is utilized in the New
Approach. The improved kinaesthetic experience brought about through the guided movement,
coupled with clear directions, enables a pupil eventually to recreate the desired movement for
him- or herself, while increased sensory awareness allows the pupil to recognize and inhibit
harmful behaviour (cf Jones, 1976: 51).1
Kinaesthetic information is communicated directly through touch and guided movement in
the New Approach. The softness elicited in the body through New Approach procedures,
1 See 3.3.5 and table 3.4.
D GM-h
GM-h R SA-i D
GM-h
U-i; R
GM; R
163
demonstrates the principle that the amount of kinaesthetic information conveyed, is in
indirect proportion to the force used in conveying it.
Both the teacher and pupil continually give attention to kinaesthetic feedback. The teacher uses
his or her hands in order to obtain sensory feedback from the pupil’s muscles, as well as to
guide the pupil through the required movement. In this way, the pupil is given a direct
kinaesthetic experience of the improved use. The feeling tone of a movement is changed as
the pupil inhibits his own reaction and allows the teacher to initiate the movement. The New
Approach teacher also uses his or her hands to increase sensory awareness by stimulating the
nerve receptors through touch, to convey kinaesthetic information, and soothe, reassure
and help release excessive tension.
However, New Approach teachers do not actively use their hands to prevent the contraction of
the head into the neck, as Alexander teachers frequently do. Interference with the primary
control is eliminated through the stance with the rhythmic pulse and the no-violin hold (see
4.4.2, 4.4.4 and 5.2.1.2). Occasionally lifting the head from the chinrest while practising also
helps to release all possible vertical pressure (Havas, 1973: 47) that inevitably causes
interference with the primary control. The increased sensory awareness of the contact between
the body and the instrument becomes the guide in eliminating any downward pressure of the
chin on the chinrest (Havas, 1973: 24). This in itself is entirely congruent with applications of
the Alexander Technique in string playing, as evidenced by the following example of inhibiting
misuse during activity:
Stein, 1999:
If a violinist realizes that during a performance she is tightening and pushing her jaw into the instrument, she can release the pressure and tension without stopping. This tool is very powerful because it gives the performer the confidence to get out of physical trouble no matter what the circumstances.
The statements in table 5.5 further illustrate the close parallels between the New Approach and
the Alexander Technique with regard to guided movement.
164
Table 5.5. Comparisons: Guided movement
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “It is often useless to tell a pupil that he is doing something wrong; he will not necessarily feel it by being told about it…The most productive way of working is to give the pupil and experience of good use that contrasts with what he normally does” (De Alcantara, 1996: 45). • “Words and ideas by themselves are not a sufficient form of education in anything which involves the senses, and they can only become effective when they have been linked to a raw experience by a learning procedure” (Barlow, 1973: 190).
• “It is important to make (the pupil) realize without holding the violin or the bow, just what a feeling of looseness means. Some of them have been so tense for so long, without even knowing it, that they have no idea of what being really relaxed is like” (Havas, 1961: 59). • “…it is not enough to say ‘relax, ‘loosen up’. Such a direction becomes of real value only when every step towards achieving relaxation and looseness has been so clearly explained and experienced that it would seem ridiculous to do anything else” (Havas, 1961: 18).
• “When the pupil perceives directly through the kinesthetic sense and can compare a habitual with a nonhabitual way of doing something, he doesn’t need words in order to grasp the significance of the experience” (Jones, 1976: 51).
• “Havas considers the feel of the movement as the primary guide to performance….she spends considerable time in the patient guidance of the pupil to perceive and through perception to accept whatever is demonstrated” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 365).
• “Books…can inform, enthuse and influence…books, however, do not show you how to do it. Your particular needs and difficulties cannot be dealt with (without a teacher) and it is precisely with these areas that the Technique is concerned” (Stevens, 1996: 74).
• “Although I shall often repeat instructions in order to emphasise a point more strongly I must emphasize too that no one…can possibly hope to learn the violin without a teacher…Another important thing is that beginners should not practise on their own between lessons…” (Havas, 1964: Introduction).
• “…it was a consciousness, not of being moved by someone else…but by a set of reflexes whose operation I knew nothing about” (Jones, 1976: 7). • At first, the teacher initiates the movement while the pupil inhibits his or her own response to the stimulus to act, as well as his or her own judgement of right and wrong. Once the new experience becomes clearer, the teacher and pupil take turns to activate the movement, until the pupil is able to take over the responsibility for the improved use on his or her own (De Alcantara, 1997: 48).
• “Briskly, momentary pressure is applied by the teacher to the triceps tendon located just above and behind the elbow joint, in alternation with a similar tap to the biceps tendon on the opposite side of the articulation. This evokes a succession of quick reflex movements…The elbow opens fully and then closes in response to tendon stimulation…Once the muscle and joint sensation has been experienced, the pupil activates the triceps and biceps muscles voluntarily in synchrony with tendon stimulation, and then finally, does this alone without potentiating proprioceptive facilitation” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 361).
165
5.2.2.2 Inhibition
Many of the causes for misuse (notably misuse of the primary control, and
misconceptions regarding the violin- and bow-holds), and the way in which they are
eliminated in the New Approach, have already been discussed at length in 5.2.1 and
5.2.2.1. The purpose of this section will be to highlight the deeper parallels between
the Alexander Technique and the New Approach regarding the process of inhibition
itself.
Inhibition, together with reasoned direction, is the means whereby change is brought
about in the Alexander Technique1. It is not a matter of learning to actively do the
right thing, but rather of stopping the misuse that interferes with good use (De
Alcantara, 1996: 77). This same principle is also at the heart of the New Approach:
Havas, 1961: 2:
I realized that a whole new approach was necessary – an approach which eliminates physical disturbances and makes it possible for the mind to have full reign over the music.
Havas recognises that “the physiological intelligence is almost incapable of making a
mistake” when left to itself (Huxley, as cited in Havas, 1973: 77), a concept which is
central to the Alexander Technique. (It is significant that Havas quotes Huxley, who
was deeply influenced by Alexander, and this will be discussed in greater detail in
5.4.1.) Havas (1961: 2) frequently emphasises that the New Approach is not
concerned with imparting knowledge or imposing a certain dogma, but with dealing
with interferences so that it is possible for the student to “let it happen”. The teacher’s
role is to pinpoint exactly where such tensions originate, so that they can be
eliminated (Havas, 1961: 57) - or in Alexandrian terminology, inhibited. This is not
easy, as a problem manifesting in one part of the body might originate somewhere
else, owing to the principle of co-innervation2. However, once the cause for misuse
has been discovered, “the trouble itself is well on the way to being eliminated”
(Havas, 1961: 68).
1 See 3.3.7. 2 See 4.5.1.
D-I; MW
I; U-m
I; U-m
PC; CF
I
U-m
I
166
Stein (1999) gives a definition of inhibition from the perspective of an Alexander
teacher involved with teaching string instruments, that is conceptually identical to the
aims of the New Approach as formulated by Havas:
Inhibition is the process of observing how the…student is moving and stopping during an activity, noting any inefficient movement patterns and then intervening to prescribe movements that have a minimum of tension and a maximum of balance and ease. (Stein, 1999.)
The basic means for preventing the “misdirection that leads to wrong use”
(Alexander, 1932: 45) lies in knowing how to stop, that is, to refuse to give consent to
habitual reactions to the stimulus for action (Jones, 1976: 83). Havas (1961: 63) is in
agreement with this point: the aim is not to improve old habits, but to completely
eliminate them, replacing them with a new way of playing. For instance, the vibrato
cannot be a “natural development of the fundamental play-actions” unless one first
stops a faulty vibrato, i.e. a super-imposed oscillation (Havas, 1964: 36), which is the
result of a tense, vertical finger-action1.
Stein (1999) suggests that when misuse is perceived, one needs to “pause for a
moment” in order to give directions for improved use. Havas also frequently
recommends that a pupil should stop completely before continuing with an action, as
is illustrated by the following example. Violinists often struggle with tension in the
fourth finger of the left hand, which inevitably leads to the incapacitating rigidity of
the whole hand (Havas, 1973: 48). This is usually because the finger is stretched out
and tensed in anticipation of playing. As a first step to overcoming this problem,
Havas advises the player to stop completely and remain in a state of rest on the string,
while pretending “that he has finished altogether before using the fourth finger”
(1973: 49). She adds that she has found “over and over again that only this total ‘stop’
could put an end to its anticipatory agitation” (1973: 49).
It is clear that Havas’s aim with this exercise is to stop a postural set (triggered in
response to the stimulus for using the fourth finger) from imposing itself. This is
exactly the conclusion that Alexander reached: he had to stop his unsatisfactory
1 See 4.4.4.
I U-m D-I PB; KE
U-m
I
D-I
I
I
D; U-i
I
U-m
I
I
I; U-m
I
167
reaction to the stimulus to use his voice at its source (Alexander, 1932: 24), before he
was able to reason out directions for improved use. In other words, it is not possible
simply to do the improved action, as the very thought of the action will cause a
postural set, which links the stimulus to the response, to occur automatically (cf Jones,
1976: 150). De Alcantara also observes that inhibition “is not simply the temporary
suspension of an activity; it is the suspension of the very wish to act” (De Alcantara,
1997: 53). Only this complete stop, advised by both Alexander and Havas, can break
the subconscious link between concept and activity, to allow a different response to be
made (cf Dawley, 2001: 7)1.
Havas follows her injunction to stop before using the fourth finger with very detailed
and comprehensive directions for improving the fourth finger action (Havas, 1973:
49–50). This includes a light, yielding slide of the thumb in the direction of the third
position, before the fourth finger itself is used. She also relates various responses from
pupils regarding the feeling of subsequent ease in the fourth finger and the increased
mobility in whole arm and hand (Havas, 1973: 51). This exercise answers to all the
indicators in the input-throughput-output diagram for inhibition, as discussed in 3.3.7
(see diagram 1). As soon as the stimulus to use the fourth finger is received (input),
the desire to act is inhibited through coming to a complete stop, so that reasoned
directions for improved use may be projected (throughput), leading to a much-
improved use and the experience of freedom and mobility (output).2
Havas (1973: 49) recognises the wider application of this principle of stopping, or
inhibition, as a means for becoming aware of and eliminating unwanted behaviour in
all aspects of playing:
‘Stopping’ in this manner (in any given passage) is a most important and useful exercise…because it shows up (and gives the player time to notice) all the tensions and twists in the body one is not conscious of otherwise. (Havas, 1973: 49.)
This shows significant equivalence with the Alexander precept that misuse can only
be inhibited once one has become aware of it on a kinaesthetic level (Jones, 1996: 1 See 3.3.7. 2 Cf Barlow, 1973: 193.
D; U-i
I
I
U-i
I
D
KE
I
D
U-i; CF
I
I SA-i
U-m
I; SA
168
51). Barlow (1973: 198) also indicates that, through projecting the reasoned directions
while inhibiting activity, it becomes possible to detect where unnecessary tension is
created in the body in anticipation of the movement.
Havas spends considerable time in making pupils aware of their “own individual
tightening points”, in order to release them (Bonnici, 1988: 1). Apart from misuse
arising from misconceptions regarding the play actions, Havas recognises that a
tightening process frequently occurs before performance “in a subconscious desire for
safety” (Bonnici, 1988: 1). Stein (1999) confirms that many musicians have a
tendency to “lock or set” the body in anticipation of performing, in the false belief
that this will help them to do the activity more precisely1. Inhibition, or stopping,
coupled with the appropriate directions, gives one the opportunity to notice and
inhibit such unnecessary stiffening (Stein, 1999).
De Alcantara (1996: 47) emphasises the importance of inhibiting end-gaining desires,
as they are the motivators for misuse. By eliminating end-gaining habits, the
movement patterns that reinforce pursuing one’s goals at any cost can be changed.
“Paying attention to the means is a radical departure from what many teachers and
performers do to solve technical problems”, yet it is only by inhibiting the “habits that
have been created by the ever-present drive to attain a goal” that change can be
brought about (Stein, 1999). The desired results can be allowed to happen, rather than
pursued, once the student is no longer in his or her own way (Stein, 1999). Again, this
is conceptually very close to Havas’s method: the inside-outward focus2 of the New
Approach prohibits end-gaining desires, in favour of a means whereby approach that
“eliminates the self” (Havas, 1973: 127), so that the violinist can “let it happen”
without cortical control or interference3.
Through inhibiting end-gaining, the pupil gains a new experience, in which the
movement often “seems to be doing itself” (De Alcantara, 1997: 49). The result of
inhibition, as applied in the Alexander Technique and the New Approach, brings
1 Other end-gaining desires that cause muscular stiffening have already been discussed at length in 5.2.1.1. Also see table 5.2. 2 See 4.4.2. 3 See 4.4.7, 5.2.1.1 and table 5.2.
D
I; SA
SA-i
U-m; I
U-m
EG
U-m
EG; I
D; SA
I
I; EG
U-m
MW
I
EG
CF
MW
I; EG
CF
I; EG
CF
I
169
about the same kinaesthetic effect1, namely ease and effortlessness of movement,
which will be discussed in more detail in 5.2.3.1.
While these natural movements are spontaneous and effortless, the pupil needs to be
able to inhibit his or her own understanding of the action, as well as the eagerness to
be right, in order to allow the teacher to initiate the movement (cf De Alcantara, 1997:
49). Although the term inhibition is not used as such in the New Approach, the
student has to release (i.e. inhibit) the domination of his or her mind, in order to allow
the teacher to stimulate the key cues for the fundamental balances, i.e. the motor
reflexes (cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 363).
Also, while learning to initiate the reflexive movement for oneself, the desire to do the
movement with muscular effort has to be inhibited, in order to let it happen. In the
initial stages of learning, nothing is required of the student other than “non-
interference with what the neuromuscular apparatus is equipped to do naturally”
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 361).
Hellebrandt, 1969: 363:
…the pupil is shown how to release that admirable repertoire of natural movements built into the neuromuscular apparatus of every normal human being. This is not easy for either the teacher or the pupil. It requires a receptive student capable of “functional decortification” – that is, sufficiently in command of his higher centres to free them from unnecessary involvement in the execution of motor acts, once what has to be done has been comprehended.
The New Approach answers to all the indicators for inhibition, as described in 3.3.7 and
summarised in table 3.5. It is clear that both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach
work directly with the body’s innate reflexes, and that the success of the procedure depends on
the pupil’s ability to inhibit interference with the body’s reflex systems (cf De Alcantara,
1997: 47). This is done in the first instance through inhibiting interference with the primary
control, and by bringing inhibition and direction on to a conscious level. Both methods use
inhibition to intercept the link between concept and activity, thereby stopping a postural set
from imposing itself, so that reasoned directions for satisfactory use can be projected.
1 See 3.3.8 and 4.5.3.
KE
KE
I; EG
GM
I
GM
R
EG
I; CF
I; R
R I CF
170
Awareness of kinaesthetic feedback is increased in both the New Approach and the Alexander
Technique, so that harmful tension patterns can be inhibited.
The effect of inhibiting interferences with the reflex systems in the body is that activity
becomes free of excessive tension, appearing to be effortless, an effect that is often reported
by New Approach students. Both methods teach that use is improved through eliminating
misuse, i.e. not by what one does, but by what one stops doing. End-gaining habits that
trigger misuse are identified and eliminated in both disciplines. It is possible to say, therefore,
that inhibition, with reasoned direction, is the means whereby change is brought about both
in the Alexander Technique and the New Approach.
See table 5.6 for further examples of statements that show similarity between the New
Approach and the Alexander Technique regarding inhibition.
171
Table 5.6. Comparisons: Inhibition
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “Inhibition is the process of observing how the…student is moving and stopping during an activity, noting any inefficient movement patterns and then intervening to prescribe movements that have a minimum of tension and a maximum of balance and ease” (Stein, 1999).
• “Thus, first one learns to pinpoint the seats of these tensions systematically and then, having recognized them, one learns step by step how to eliminate them…this sense of ease and perfect balance…is the aim of the New Approach” (Whitman, as cited in Havas, 1968: 96).
• “Knowing how to stop…demands a technique of inhibition in which refusal to give consent to habitual (subconscious) reaction is the basic means for change” (Alexander, as cited in Jones, 1976: 83).
• “The first important step was to prevent the anticipatory agitation of the fourth finger before it was used…the only way to prevent it was to stop completely while playing on the previous finger” (Havas, 1973: 48).
• Through projecting the reasoned directions while inhibiting activity, it becomes possible to detect where unnecessary tension is created in the body in anticipation of the movement (Barlow, 1973: 198). • “If we become sensorily aware of doing a harmful thing to ourselves, we can cease doing it” (Jones, 1976: 51).
• “‘Stopping’ in this manner (in any given passage) is a most important and useful exercise, apart from the fourth-finger action, because it shows up (and gives the player time to notice) all the tensions and twists in the body one is not conscious of otherwise” (Havas, 1973: 49).
• Inhibition stops habitual reactions that interfere with the reflex systems of the body, so that activity becomes free of excessive tension, appearing to be effortless (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 47-49).
• “The secret of teaching is not so much the question of imparting knowledge. It is the ability to make the road clear for the pupil both physically and mentally so that he can lose whatever constraint he has and as a result is able just ‘to let it happen’” (Havas, 1961: 57).
• “..the whole procedure depends, for its success, on the willingness and ability of the pupil to inhibit his desire to vibrate and to stop his usual vibrato before he learns a new vibrato” (De Alcantara, 1997: 48).
• The vibrato should not be a super-imposed oscillation, but develop naturally. “The player should stop his own vibrato during these exercises otherwise the natural vibrato will not be able to develop with the basic play-actions” (Havas, 1964: 36).
• While inhibition can bring about far-reaching and immensely rewarding change, it is also difficult to learn, as to inhibit means to delay the instant gratification of a desire. It requires self-denial to go against one’s instinctive desire to react in a habitual way, and most people find this a struggle (De Alcantara, 1997: 54).
• “…the pupil is shown how to release that admirable repertoire of natural movements built into the neuromuscular apparatus…It requires a receptive student capable of ‘functional decortification’ – that is, sufficiently in command of his higher centres to free them from unnecessary involvement in the execution of motor acts” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 363).
172
5.2.2.3 Direction
It has already been demonstrated in 5.2.2.2 that the principle of inhibition followed by
direction, exists in the New Approach. The purpose of this section is to examine
deeper congruence regarding the process of direction itself, as applied in the New
Approach and the Alexander Technique.
Havas agrees that old, harmful habits need to be eliminated completely, but also
recognises that this places the pupil in the dilemma of having to let go of the familiar
without as yet knowing what the new use entails1: “It is as though a lame man is told
to throw away his crutches. He would feel utterly helpless unless he had something
else he could trust equally well to support him” (Havas, 1961: 63). It is therefore
imperative that pupils be given “something definite and something completely logical
to take the place of their previous playing” (Havas, 1961: 62). Havas’s view shows
deep resonance with Alexander’s realization that he had to stop relying on the feeling
associated with his instinctive direction, and rely on his reasoning processes instead
(Alexander, 1932: 25).
Direction in the Alexander Technique involves analysis of the conditions present in
the unsatisfactory use, as well as the thought and movement patterns required by the
improved use (Madden, 2002). With the teacher’s guidance, the verbal pattern
describing the steps to improved use is linked to the pupil’s kinaesthetic experience.
This is precisely the way in which Havas proceeds to give a pupil a clear and logical
plan for improved use (cf Havas, 1961: 62). She first identifies the exact cause and
nature of the physical and mental blockages, followed by a carefully worked-out plan
to establish a balanced, inside-outward way of playing. The teacher helps to make the
steps to the improved use as clear as possible, through discussion, demonstration and
facilitating the movements (cf Havas, 1961: 18).
Alexandrian directing always requires the first step of inhibiting one’s immediate
response to the stimulus for action. By stopping for a moment, in order to project the
sequence of directions for improved use before acting, familiarity with the new
1This is conceptually very close to the discussion regarding unreliable sensory awareness in the Alexander Technique - see 3.3.4.
I
D
I
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means-whereby is gained1. This is also true in the New Approach: Havas often
recommends that a pupil should merely think about the movement until a clear picture
of the desired action is obtained (cf Havas, 1964: 13). The importance of mental
rehearsal2 in the New Approach ensures that the focus of perception regarding the
intended action is very clear.
Barlow, 1973: 225:
Giving ‘directions’ is like setting the focus and speed of a camera. If the focus is wrong, a blurred picture will result, which can be misinterpreted in many ways. Time spent directing is never wasted. A far more appropriate response is possible if the focus of perception has been sharpened by directing.
The New Approach practise of mental rehearsal and miming the movements away
from the instrument inhibits the end-gaining desire to play at all costs, while
sharpening one’s focus of the means-whereby. As the instrument is not actually
handled while the movement is mentally projected and mimed, the habitual response
to touching and playing on the instrument is inhibited, giving one an opportunity to
experience the desired movement physically without the distorting influence of the
instrument. Unnecessary tension and misuse can then be recognised and eliminated
when the same action is repeated with the instrument3.
Mental representations of movements are created from memories of the kinaesthetic
sensations that accompany such movement4. Havas (1964) often refers to the feeling
of a movement, which is recreated in the imagination along with the required sound,
before it is actually played on the instrument. This answers to one of the defining
features of Alexandrian directing: the triple linkage of a thought, its resulting action,
and its accompanying feedback (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 60). As this triple linkage is
absent in ordinary thought, it is safe to say that New Approach thinking is equivalent
to Alexandrian directing; with the addition that aural feedback is also included in the
sensory feedback that is linked to the mental representation of the action.
1 See 3.2.2. 2 See 4.4.3. 3 See 4.5.1. It is important to note that this process is only applicable while the fundamental balances are being established, as the pupil eventually forgets all about the external aspects of technique while performing, in order to project the music. 4 See 4.4.3.
MW
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D
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D-I
I; EG
MW
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U-m; I
D-q
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D-q
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Havas frequently uses the term direction, and does so in this Alexandrian sense, as is
evident from the following citation: “Such a direction becomes of real value only
when every step…has been so clearly explained and experienced that it would seem
ridiculous to do anything else” (Havas, 1961: 18). In other words, she refers to a
verbal pattern that has been linked to kinaesthetic experience, in order to recreate the
co-ordinative processes required for improved use (cf Barlow, 1973: 132).
The New Approach directions are “ordered” in both of the senses to which Barlow
(1973: 131) refers1. Firstly, the directions are “consciously projected as a command”
to the body, as was discussed in the preceding paragraphs. Secondly, the fundamental
balances are established in a particular order (cf Havas, 1964), starting with the
balance of the body as a whole, thereby ensuring that the central co-ordination of the
head, neck and back is maintained as a core structure and the pupil does not become
caught up in the peripheral movements of the arms and hands2. In addition, the
directions for establishing the fundamental balances are also given in a sequential
order (cf Havas, 1964).
Both Havas (1964) and De Alcantara (1997: 218) insist that establishing a dynamic,
balanced posture and cultivating good use of the arms, precedes any attempt to play
the instrument3. In other words, both methods proceed “from the general to the
particular” (De Alcantara, 1997: 218). De Alcantara (1997: 218) advises that “new
steps should not compromise earlier ones”, and that when any deviation from general
good use is noticed, one should “backtrack and re-cultivate earlier norms until a new
step does not compromise earlier ones”. Havas’s insistence on first individually
establishing the fundamental balances rests on the same principle:
Havas, 1964: 73:
…it is imperative that each point of balance you have learned so far should be interlocked with and interdependent of every other. For example, unless the violin-hold is correct, the left arm cannot be free, and if the left arm is twisted, the left finger-action is cramped…if the control of finger-action is not from the base joints, the thumb gets disabled…please check on all (these points) again before going any further.
1 See 3.3.6. 2 See 5.2.1.2. 3 See 4.5.1 and 3.3.9.
D-q
D
D
D-q
PC
D
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PC
U-m
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PC U-m D-I
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The detailed directions for improved use are eventually shortened to a single word,
once the principle behind the action is understood well. For instance, the thought
processes that are followed to establish the fundamental balance in the left base
knuckles include the following: (1) “Lift the base joint of the first finger – hear, say,
and feel the ‘A’ in your mind, simultaneously…transferring this sensation to the first
base joint as if they were one and the same”; (2) “Drop the finger from the base joint
forward…on the ‘G’ string…the generating power itself remains behind in the bone
of the base joint, so that the actual contact between the finger-tip and string is light
and resilient”; (3) “‘Buckle’ the wrist very slightly towards you, after each finger-
action on the string” in order to “counter-act any possible stiffness” in the left wrist
(Havas, 1964: 34).
This detailed procedure is eventually abbreviated to “‘raise’, ‘throw’, ‘buckle’”, once
the “principle of how to prepare each note is well understood” (Havas, 1964: 50). In
other words, the New Approach directions eventually become a “mnemonic index”,
such as described by De Alcantara (1997: 60), where the abbreviated phrase or word
contains a depth of experiential meaning, and is able to trigger a particular experience.
Another similarity between directing in the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach lies in the “syntax” to directing, which involves three distinct elements that
interact in a precise way, i.e. the action, the part acted upon, and the orientation in
space (De Alcantara, 1997: 61). The example of the New Approach direction cited
above illustrates this syntax very clearly: the finger (body part) is dropped from the
base knuckle (action), and the orientation in space is forwards onto the string (Havas,
1964: 34). This syntax is common to the New Approach directions in general.
As in the Alexander Technique, the New Approach directions are not concerned with
maintaining a particular physical position as such, but with the spatial orientation that
exists within each position1. As opposed to the fixed ways in which the body is often
positioned in traditional violin methods, the body is “positioned to seek and find its
own natural balance” in the New Approach (Hellebrandt, 1969: 279). Havas does not
advocate set positions, and believes in each pupil’s innate ability to discover “for
1 See 3.3.6.
D-q
D-q
D-q
D-q
D-q
D
PB
176
himself the design of co-ordination best adapted to his needs” (Hellebrandt, 1970a:
429). At the same time, she does refer to the spatial orientation that exists within the
playing movements, as is shown in this quotation: “Make certain that the action of the
index finger…is always a forward motion towards you and that the left elbow points
to the ground and is not twisted under the violin” (Havas, 1964: 29). (Italics added.)
Alexandrian directing has been described as an ordered sequence of words containing
both spatial and temporal co-ordinates (cf Barlow 1973: 191), and it has been
illustrated above that the New Approach also incorporates both spatial and temporal1
co-ordinates in the directions used for establishing the fundamental balances. Once a
balanced use of the body has been established, the New Approach directing adds a
further dimension, in linking the balanced physical use to the musical co-ordinates, so
that the inner ear eventually directs all movement required in performing the music
(cf Havas, 1973: 76). Although this process is unique to the New Approach, it is still
entirely congruent with the Alexander Technique. De Alcantara (1997: 56) stresses
that directing is to “establish, cultivate, and refine the connections between what you
think and what you do”. In violin performance the thought is ultimately musical, and
the aim of the New Approach is to establish, cultivate and refine the connections
between the violinist’s musical thinking and the physical movements required to
express such thought.
Havas (1973: 76) proceeds from the perspective that it is only the inner ear that can
link the player to the music2, and that this needs as much regular and systematic
training as the physical aspects of playing. The New Approach directing can be
summarised as “the co-ordinated aural and physical reaction to the pitch” (Havas,
1973: 76), and Havas (1973: 84) outlines the sequence of this psycho-physical co-
ordination as follows:
1. Identification (the naming of the notes containing aural, visual and sensory information);
2. Response of the left-finger action to the identification; 3. Responses in the right arm movements to the lead of the left hand (for this
it is imperative that there are no blockages in the bow-hold, and elbow 1 The temporal co-ordinates include not only the sequential order of the directions, but also the rhythmic pulse with which the physical movements are coordinated - see the discussion to follow. 2 See 4.4.6.
D-q
D
PB
D-w
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D
177
joint and that the whole bowing arm is based on motion and balance), without any conscious effort on the part of the player. (Havas, 1973: 84).
To clarify this process, it is worth examining each of these steps in greater detail.
Firstly, Havas (1973: 82) teaches that “the accumulated information relating to each
note is aural, visual and tactile”, and that it is the name of the note that synchronises
all of this information. However, the concept of notes are very often “connected in the
player’s mind only with a finger action on the fingerboard with hardly any (or no)
sensory, aural and imaginative perceptions” (Havas, 1973: 83). It is through
internalising the music away from the instrument that this information becomes linked
to the visual stimulus of reading the notation.
The printed note is presented as a sensory cue for the sound produced by the
instrument, and is given “an auditory facet and rhythmic proprioceptive background”
(Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475) through singing and pulsing the music rhythmically before
playing. Once the music has been internalised together with the appropriate dynamics
and musical imagination (Havas, 1973: 76), the pupil is taught “how to yoke this
configuration of objective and subjective cues to that complex of proprioceptive
patterns evoked by receptors in muscles, tendons and joints” (Hellebrandt, 1970b:
475) in the act of physically playing the instrument.
This process is initially limited to the left hand finger action: once the mental image
of the music is very clear, it is transferred to the left base joints through miming, i.e.
lifting and dropping the respective base joints simultaneously with hearing the music
inwardly (Havas, 1961: 67). Havas (1973: 88) stresses that the wrist should remain
“feather-light” during this exercise and that there should be “no feeling in the fingers
at all”, but that the motivation for the movement should be purely in the base joints,
once again illustrating the importance of attention to sensory feedback in learning to
direct1. In eventually playing the same passage on the instrument, the notes are
verbalised aloud “with such authority that the playing itself becomes a mere reflex
action” (Havas, 1973: 89). In this way “the visual, aural, and sensory information
becomes united into one response, the naming of the notes” (Havas, 1973: 84).
1 See table 3.6.
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D-q
D-q
SA
CF-p
D-q
178
As long as the bowing arm is free of tension, and the fundamental balances well-
established, the bowing will evolve naturally to the lead of the left hand (Havas, 1964:
68). Havas (1964: 10+) takes great care in the beginning to establish the bow strokes
on the open strings, using detailed, sequential directions. The movements are always
based on balance and coordinated with the rhythmic pulse as the activator for the
movement (Havas, 1973: 38). The rhythmic division and weight-adjustment of the
bow and arm eventually “take care of all bowing technique as a matter of course”
(Havas, 1973: 38). As soon as the “feeling” of the different bow strokes (legato,
detaché, martelé, etc.) has been mastered on the open strings, the student is instructed
to concentrate only on the left hand finger action when the two hands are combined
(Havas, 1964: 72). As the duration of the bow-strokes continually changes, depending
on the rhythmic configuration of the melody being shaped in the left hand, “it is
imperative that the right arm should follow the command of the left” (Havas, 1964:
69). Directing the note name to the left base knuckles is the key cue that triggers the
whole of the physical response, greatly simplifying the conscious process – it is the
central point of direction that is able to coordinate the mind and the body (Havas,
1973: 85)1.
Havas, 1964: 68:
…it is most important to realize that in the long run, there are no such things as ‘bowing technique’, ‘left hand technique’ etc., but that good violin playing depends on the co-ordination of all the balances into a final ‘whole’; and that the basic control of this ‘whole’ lies in the shaping of the melody in the left finger action.
This is of profound importance, as it is the lack of mental and physical coordination
that is the cause of much anxiety and misuse in violin performance (Havas, 1961: 69).
There are so many things to coordinate in playing the violin, that the mind can
become diffused in several directions, disorganised and unable to give direction to the
operation of the whole at the crucial moment “when everything should click together”
(Havas, 1961: 69). However, once all the musical information has been organized in
the mind (as described in the preceding discussion), the body in balance knows what
to do and responds reflexively and with ease of movement to the musical imagination 1 Havas (1968: 72) emphasises that this is not an over-simplification: “all the muscles and joints and sinews do the work that is attributed to them, but in this way they simply become subconscious actions”.
PB
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SA
D
CF
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D
U-m D
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CF; KE
179
of the performer. When the mind is focused only on one point of control (i.e. directing
the music through the left hand finger action), it is free to recreate the music “instead
of being continuously occupied by various physical aspects” of playing the instrument
(Havas, 1961: 68). The inside-outward playing brought about by New Approach
directing, exemplifies an ordered structure of use of the whole of the psycho-physical
self, in which mind and movement are co-ordinated in an expressive musical gesture.
This extended, multi-layered directing, linked to the note name, is not easy to learn
and demands a great deal of attention, as well as the ability to inhibit unnecessary
cortical involvement in “the execution of motor acts” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 363). In
other words, it requires the ability to inhibit the desire to control the playing
movements, so that they can be allowed to unfold naturally. Havas (1973: 84)
emphasises that saying the note names is “not an empty drill, and can fulfil its
function as the central point of co-ordination only if the visual, aural, sensory, and
tactile information is well-established”. This requires slow, detailed practise so that
the mind has sufficient time “to prepare and transmit each note through the left base
joints” (Havas, 1961: 52). Once this identification becomes a habit, it is no longer
necessary to say the note names aloud, as they will have become embedded in the
mind. As the mind works very fast, “identification will be made at an incredible
speed”, so that it eventually becomes a natural process similar to the identification of
people and objects, with all the subsidiary information relating to them (Havas, 1973:
83).
The foregoing discussion reveals parallels between the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique on many different levels. Firstly, the New Approach is
ultimately concerned with thinking, and not doing, as is the Alexander Technique. It
is the direction that elicits the physical action, while the pupil inhibits his own end-
gaining desire to control physical movements with conscious effort1. The movements
are allowed to unfold naturally rather than controlled, so that the body’s reflex
systems come into play, leading to ease and accuracy2. Learning to direct in this way
is an amalgamative process, requiring much attention, deliberate discipline and time
in order to reason out and link the co-ordinates of the directions (cf Barlow, 1973: 1 See 3.3.11. 2 See 3.3.8 and 3.3.11.
D
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D-q
A; I
I
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D
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KE
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180
212). Eventually, however, such directing “becomes a state of ‘thoughtful movement’,
rather than ‘thought-out action’” (Barlow, 1973: 212). The New Approach sets up the
required conditions in which a flash of “coordinative, integrative thought” is able to
“set in motion co-ordinated, integrated activity” (De Alcantara, 1997: 54)1.
Once such a new body construct has been learned, it can be used to “put oneself into a
state of ‘thoughtful movement’” (Barlow, 1973: 212), but the decision to employ it
has to be made anew, according to the situation, and has to be directed consciously, as
it may not be immediately accessible at a conscious level (Barlow, 1973: 212). Havas
also emphasises that applying the “principles of motion and balance” is a continuous
development, and should be the focus of attention at the start of each daily practise
session (Havas, 1973: 128).
Alexandrian directing does not lead to automatic, conditioned responses or a
mechanistic control of the body, but freedom of choice and imaginative creativity2.
This is also true in the New Approach. Like Kreisler (as cited in Havas, 1973: 125),
Havas believes that mechanistic repetition and excessive practise “benumbs the brain,
renders the imagination less acute and deadens the sense of alertness that every artist
must possess”. She points out that it is more important to set aside time just to think
about the action and how it should be done (Havas, 1961: 62): “dependence on the
function of the mind”, rather than on physical conditioning, gives the musician the
freedom to transmit his musical imagination in an act of spontaneous music-making.
Hellebrandt, 1969: 279:
…the New Approach may be forecasting a future in which the violinist rediscovers himself as the instrument of expression, with the violin and bow as extensions of a sensitively responsive and autonomously regulated physiological machine.
The New Approach directing complies with all of the qualifying characteristics of direction, as
stipulated in 3.3.6 and table 3.6: it is a verbal pattern that has been linked to the new use,
which enables a pupil to recreate the co-ordinative processes required for such use. It consists
1 See 5.2.3.4. 2 See 3.3.6
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A
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of the triple linkage of a thought, its resulting action and the associated feedback, and has
the same syntax as Alexandrian directing.
The New Approach directions contain spatial and temporal co-ordinates, as well as musical
coordinates. The directions are eventually shortened to a single word or phrase, containing a
depth of kinaesthetic meaning. It has a quality of insistent, repeated thought, as the directions
are projected mentally before they are attempted on the instrument. It requires deliberate
discipline to learn to do each individual movement well for its own sake before all the
balances are linked into one point of control, thereby greatly simplifying co-ordination and
leading to the effortless ease of good use. The New Approach does not lead to mechanistic,
conditioned control of the body, but to the freedom of both the body and mind, in an act of
imaginative creativity.
The New Approach directing also requires the inhibition of habitual reactions. Once the wrong
response is stopped at the source of misdirection, the directions for the improved use can be
projected mentally. The directions are a matter of thinking, not doing, and the physical
movements are allowed to unfold naturally as the pupil inhibits cortical interference in motor
movements. The New Approach directing aims above all to integrate thought with action, and
sets up the conditions necessary for co-ordinative thought to bring about coordinated acting.
A unique aspect of the New Approach directing is that aural feedback is included in the triple
linkage of a thought, its resulting action and the associated feedback. The directions integrate
musical as well as spatial and temporal coordinates, and are eventually shortened to just the
name of the note, which coordinates mind and movement, and contains a depth of kinaesthetic
information as a result of the painstaking process in which all the different components have
been linked together.
Table 5.7 compares statements relating to direction in the New Approach and the Alexander
Technique.
182
Table 5.7. Comparisons: Direction
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• Alexander (1932: 25) discovered that he had to give up relying on the “feeling associated with (his) instinctive direction”, and in its place employ his reasoning processes in order to work out the means whereby a more satisfactory use could be brought about. Through consciously projecting these directions once he had inhibited his initial response to the stimulus for action, he was finally able to improve his use (Alexander, 1932: 33).
• “…some (pupils) find it extremely difficult to give up a habit which, though ruinous, they have developed in order to play at all…They have to have something definite and something completely logical to take the place of their previous playing…It is as though a lame man is told to throw away his crutches. He would feel utterly helpless unless he had something else he could trust equally well to support him” (Havas, 1961: 62).
• Alexander used his reasoning to analyse the conditions of the misuse, as well as to work out the means whereby a more satisfactory use could be obtained, and then consciously projected these directions to himself (Alexander, 1932: 25). • “The Technique involves analysis of habitual thought and movement patterns as well as analysis of the thought and movement patterns required by the activity itself. With that information, students reason out a new constructive plan to maximize their overall coordination for the chosen activity” (Madden, 2002).
• “When the point in question is clarified, demonstrate it; first, the incorrect way, to point out the effect that that particular fault has on the tone – then the correct way, to show the effect which that has on the quality of tone” (Havas, 1961: 57). • “Her ability to diagnose the prepotent cause of difficulties in execution is very acute, as is her ingenuity in applying corrective measures” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 365). • The aim is to discover “the design of co-ordination best adapted to (one’s) needs” (Hellebrandt, 1970a: 429).
• “The conductor was reacting muscularly in the wrong order. Instead of maintaining the central co-ordination of his back as a ‘core-structure’, he was becoming totally involved in the peripheral movements of his arms, so that the structure of his trunk was distorted and his basic balance upset” (Barlow, 1973: 131).
• “We take it for granted that the movements of every day activities are carried out by inside-outward impulses, the source of which is right in the centre of the body itself…Yet we don’t seem to think it odd at all when the bow is pushed and pulled by the fingers and wrist with the arm following behind ” (Havas, 1973: 28).
• “In time the pupil comes to associate the experiences and sensations of directing with their respective commands. He can then use words to recall experiences, or even to trigger them. The words become a mnemonic index of sorts” (De Alcantara, 1997: 60).
• “If the principle of how to prepare each note is well understood, abbreviate the thought process before each finger action to – ‘raise’, ‘throw’, ‘buckle’” (Havas, 1964: 50).
• “There may be an apparent conflict between the carefree ease of good use and the deliberate discipline required to cultivate it” (De Alcantara, 1997: 163).
• “Although it is true that when this Approach has been assimilated violin playing is made far easier, the assimilation itself may not be easy at all” (Havas, 1964: Introduction).
183
5.2.3 Improved use
The New Approach procedures bring about a sense of ease and well being in playing
the violin, which is strongly reinforcing and self-motivating. Postural balance is
improved as interference with the righting reflexes is eliminated, allowing for
effortless and graceful natural movements to evolve (Hellebrandt, 1969: 279).
Although the physical aspects of violin playing are made much easier, it demands a
great deal of attention in order to learn this approach. The New Approach brings
about an extended field of awareness in relation to the instrument, and the player
experiences increased control and freedom, as the instrument becomes an extension of
the living, expressive body.
5.2.3.1 The kinaesthetic effect
Havas believes that “playing the violin is never difficult; it is either easy or it is
impossible” (Havas, 1973: 136). The problem lies in “the complexities of the
neuromuscular activities” involved in playing the violin, which demands a very high
degree of co-ordination (Havas, 1973: 28). The New Approach procedures are
designed to co-ordinate mind and movement, so that a single point of direction is
eventually able to unite the response of the whole in the act of musical self-
expression1. It is noteworthy that De Alcantara describes the co-ordinated use of the
self in violin playing, from the perspective of an Alexander teacher, in very similar
terms.
De Alcantara, 1997: 157:
Alexandrian co-ordination means…to link thought to action in complex ways…Violin playing, for instance, consists of many factors that relate to one another in complex ways. Yet for the well-co-ordinated violinist, playing the violin consists of a single act of the will, and as such it is one and simple. In other words, the arrangement of factors involved in playing the violin is complex; their execution in a unified whole is simple, unless the violinist is badly co-ordinated, in which case playing the violin becomes complicated.
Although the process of linking together all the factors involved in violin playing is
complex, and demands intense training and sustained mental concentration
(Hellebrandt, 1969: 363), the execution of the unified whole is simple once all the
1 See 5.2.2.3.
KE
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I; R
KE
A
A-e
CF
KE
U-m
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KE
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factors have been co-ordinated in a single musical gesture. In the New Approach, the
single act of the will is the inner musical voice, which directs the left hand finger
action while everything else responds reflexively1. However, this coordinated use of
the self is only possible if the physical aspect of playing is based on natural, balanced
whole body movements that are “controlled and regulated subcortically” (Hellebrandt,
1970a: 421).
Hellebrandt, 1970a: 421:
Sufficient evidence has accumulated…to convince…that what Havas does in her application of the key-cue devices is capable of unlocking automatisms which give simplicity and ease to physical acts described almost universally in the pedagogic literature on violin playing as complex, difficult and unnatural.
Havas (1973: 34) often refers to the feeling of security and “over-all well-being” that
a player will experience from movement based on the fundamental balances. For
instance, she notes that the balance of the bow arm will elicit “a feeling of enormous
comfort and well-being” (Havas, 1961: 50). Havas (1973: 35) also mentions that
reflexive elbow movement is so light that “you will not even feel the movement”, in
contrast to the stiff elbow-joint that many players suffer from, as a result of leading
the bow stroke with the fingers and hand. As many players are so used to tension in
their playing movements that they are not even aware of it (Havas, 1973: 34), the
improved use brought about in the New Approach is bound to register
kinaesthetically as much easier, lighter and efficient.
This is confirmed by numerous reports from both professional and amateur violinists,
who frequently refer to the joy, assurance and seeming effortlessness that they
experience in their playing as a result of the New Approach2. Havas (1992: 1) writes
that most players experience “moments of overwhelming bliss with a powerful energy
flow that transcends all physical difficulties and a feeling of being one with the magic
of the music”. Judging by the numerous reports to this effect in the KHANA
newsletters and elsewhere3, it is reasonable to say that the kinaesthetic effect of
effortlessness and ease is also a hallmark of the New Approach, as it is for the
1 See 5.2.2.3. 2 See 4.5.3. 3 See 4.5.3.
D
PB
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R KE
KE
PB
KE
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Alexander Technique, and for the same reason: interference with the reflex systems of
the body is inhibited1.
Jones (1976: 144) concluded that the sensory experience of lightness and ease is the
result of preventing interference with the primary control, or righting reflexes, which
in turn prevents interference with the other reflex systems in the body. It has been
shown that the New Approach eliminates and prevents interference with the primary
control through the balanced stance and the no-violin hold2. Hellebrandt3 frequently
notes that Havas’s teaching devices allow the body’s natural reflex systems to operate
without interference, and makes specific reference to the righting reflexes. In the light
of Jones’s research as well as Hellebrandt’s conclusions, it is logical to conclude that
the kinaesthetic effect of ease and effortlessness in the New Approach indeed has the
same foundation as it does in the Alexander Technique.
The sense of pleasure and well-being brought about in both methods, is strongly
reinforcing and self-motivating4. Jones (1976: 162) is adamant that “the facilitated
response should be its own reward”, so that the wrong aspect of the response should
not be reinforced, as when the pupil attributes praise from the teacher “to something
he did, rather than what he did not do”. Havas (1961: 58) concurs that it is very
important that the result of the improved use not be judged by “the corrected position
of any special part of the arm or hand”, which would put the focus on achieving a
particular set position. Rather, the kinaesthetic effect of ease, coupled with the effect
on tone production, is the arbitrating factor at all times, and is tremendously self-
motivating.
Havas, 1961: 58:
…if the diagnosis is correct the cure is not only instantaneous, but it has such a definite effect on tone production that the pupil experiences an immediate feeling of well-being – a feeling that ‘this is right’. The stronger this feeling is, the more he desires to continue it, and is well on the road to a sense of fulfilment and achievement; which in turn are the best possible antidotes to insecurity and lack of self-confidence.
1 See 4.5.2 and 5.2.1.2. 2 See 5.2.1.2. 3 Cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 277, 279 and 1970b: 475. 4 Cf Jones, 1976: 2 and Havas, 1961: 58.
R
I
KE
I; PC
R
I; PC
PB
R
PC
KE
KE
KE
U-i KE
186
Once a pupil has experienced this feeling of well-being and rightness, it is important
to renew it daily in order to establish the new way of playing, so that he or she does
not fall back into old habits. Havas (1973: 128) recommends that the violinist should
start each day’s practise by putting together all the balances again, so that tensions
and stresses do not accumulate unnoticed in one’s playing. This very similar to
Jones’s view, that the significance of the kinaesthetic effect brought about in the
Alexander Technique can only be grasped if it is renewed on a regular basis, and
“used as a device for self-examination and for initiating a programme of change”
(Jones, 1976: 7).
All the indicators for the kinaesthetic effect, as stipulated in table 3.7, are met in the New
Approach. Violinists who have had experience of the New Approach, frequently comment on
the lightness, ease and efficiency of movement that the New Approach procedures bring about.
Eliminating interference with the righting reflexes, and thereby preserving the freedom of all
the other reflex systems in the body, is the mechanism responsible for the kinaesthetic effect of
ease, efficiency and effortlessness of movement. The sense of pleasure and well-being
brought about by movement that is based on balance, is strongly reinforcing and self-
motivating. Applying the New Approach principles of motion and balance is a continuous
development, and should be reinforced daily in order to maintain the carefree ease of good use.
See table 5.8 for a selection of statements that show parallels between the New Approach and
the Alexander Technique, with regard to the kinaesthetic effect of ease and lightness.
KE
PB
KE
187
Table 5.8. Comparisons: The kinaesthetic effect
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “For the well-co-ordinated violinist, playing the violin consists of a single act of the will, and as such it is one and simple. In other words, the arrangement of factors involved in playing the violin is complex; their execution in a unified whole is simple, unless the violinist is badly co-ordinated, in which case playing the violin becomes complicated” (De Alcantara, 1997: 157).
• “Playing the violin is never difficult; it is either easy or it is impossible” (Havas, 1973: 136). • “From the independent thinking of a first-rate artist-teacher has come a series of devices which serve as key cues capable of unlocking the neuromuscular machinery of the living body in ways which greatly simplify the fundamentals of violin playing” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 277).
• “In the Alexander Technique when a student is inhibiting his habitual response and allowing his spine to lengthen and his head to move in the direction of greater freedom, any movement that he makes will register kinesthetically as pleasanter, more efficient, and more desirable than his habitual movement. In other words, he is immediately rewarded” (Jones, 1976: 161).
• “If the diagnosis is correct the cure is not only instantaneous, but it has such a definite effect on tone production that the pupil experiences an immediate feeling of well-being – a feeling that “this is right”. The stronger this feeling is, the more he desires to continue it, and is well on the road to a sense of fulfilment and achievement; which in turn are the best possible antidotes to insecurity and lack of self-confidence” (Havas, 1961: 58).
• “F. Matthias Alexander…discovered a method (a means-whereby) for expanding consciousness to take in inhibition as well as excitation…and thus obtain a better integration of the reflex and voluntary elements in a response pattern. The procedure makes any movement or activity smoother and easier, and is strongly reinforcing” (Jones, 1976: 2).
• “Once understood and experienced, (the violin pupil) learns quickly to rely on automatic governors to compensate for the biomechanical effects of willed changes in the relationships of body parts…he permits the wisdom of a superbly automated body to select the one best way to implement the desired act” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 305).
• “The technique is not a treatment; it is a discipline that, in order to be effective, has to be applied in the activities of daily life. The reward is an increase in competence and self-esteem and in the sensory satisfaction that accompanies self-knowledge and self-control” (Jones, 1976: 163). • “ ‘It is a happiness’, Alexander said, which increases with psychophysical improvement’…Happiness, then, consists in the sensory satisfaction that comes with an increase of self-knowledge and control” (Jones, 1976: 42).
• “Although the physical aspect of the New Approach is infinitely easier than the orthodox way of playing, the degree of concentration it demands is extreme. But at least the player is assured of constant development…One knows that the control of passages is no longer accidental, that the desire to communicate is unhampered by physical obstacles. This new feeling of power and control is an invaluable psychological asset on the concert platform. This, plus the sense of achievement and pleasure one has on the stage is incalculable” (Whitman, as cited in Havas, 1968: 96).
188
5.2.3.2 Postural balance
In reading through Chapters Three and Four, the parallels between the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach with regard to postural balance are immediately
apparent1. This section aims to highlight some of these similarities.
The principal aspect of the New Approach is that it is a technique based on the
motion gestalt, i.e. the balanced use of the body as a whole, from which all partial
patterns derive2. This is also at the heart of the Alexander Technique: all partial
patterns, such as the use of the arms or hands, are regulated by the total pattern, i.e.
the balanced use of the whole3. Inhibiting reactions that cause a total or partial
misuse of the self, by interfering with the body’s reflex systems, is the central point
of the Alexander Technique4, and this is also the foundation on which the New
Approach rests5. By eliminating interference with the gravitational reflexes, both
methods facilitate the integration of the total and partial patterns, resulting in the
balanced, co-ordinated use of the body (cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 305).
Interference with the body’s natural reflexes, “with all the neuralgic and muscular
complications that are quite likely to ensue”, is often caused when teachers work
from the smaller motions to the larger, insisting that students think about each
separate action (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86). In contrast to these methods,
Havas begins with the balanced use of the body as a whole, thereby “freeing the
shoulders, arms, wrists and fingers to follow their own natural reflex actions” (Scott,
as cited in Havas, 1968: 86).
Although the “violinist’s posture has been treated to an abundance of rules, standards
and specifications” in treatises on violin method (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968:
92), in reality there can be no such thing as a “normal posture”, as good posture will
vary from one person to the next. Wright (as cited in Havas, 1968: 92) attributes
misconceptions in this regard to the fact that “thinking has been in terms of static
posture, whereas the violinist’s posture is not static but dynamic”. The Havas stance,
1 See 3.3.8, 3.3.9 and 4.5.1 2 See 4.5.1. 3 See 3.3.3. 4 See 3.3.7. 5 See 5.2.1.2.
PB
PC
I; U-m
PC-m
I; PC-m
PC-i
PB
U-m
EG
PB
U-i; R
PB
189
however, is not based on rules or fixed positions, and avoids “the imposition of an
artificial posture with its predisposition to obstructive tension” (Wright, as cited in
Havas, 1968: 92).
This shows considerable congruence with the Alexander teaching that there is no
such thing as a fixed position, or correct posture (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 14), and that
trying to be right merely brings about new tensions and anxiety that interfere with a
balanced use of the body1. Rather than a mechanical achievement of stability, the
Alexander Technique aims to establish a position of mechanical advantage, which
can be altered quickly and easily in order to respond to the continually changing
demands of life1. The Havas stance is such a dynamic posture, concerned with
balance and movement, and able to fulfil its purpose “with maximum efficiency and
minimum effort” (Wright, as cited in Havas, 1968: 92). Hellebrandt (1969: 305) also
concludes that the Havas stance allows the “multi-jointed body…to adjust in an
infinite variety of ways to meet any exigency” with ease and grace, as “no artificial
resistance is imposed” that can interfere with the postural reflexes.
The Havas stance, referred to as the “gorilla stance” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 281), closely
resembles that of a position of mechanical advantage, sometimes described as
“monkey” in the Alexander Technique (De Alcantara, 1997: 103). De Alcantara
(1997: 204) stresses that there are a great variety of monkeys, occurring naturally in
many situations outside of the Alexander Technique. Due to the similarity in
description2, it can be concluded that the Havas stance is in essence such a monkey.
Both methods describe this stance as a position of dynamic balance, which gives
support to the shoulder girdle and upper limbs in activity3.
The Alexander Technique teaches that by freeing the neck and allowing the feet to be
fully on the floor, a person is grounded, and this “sense of grounding flows up the
torso into the arms, neck, and shoulders and gives a greater sense of freedom to the
upper body” (Stein, 1999). Havas (1973: 100) also emphasises the importance of
resting the feet fully on the floor, and her description of the “layers of rests” that
1 See 3.3.9. 2 See references in table 5.9. 3 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 104, and Hellebrandt, 1969: 305.
U-m
EG; U-m
PB
U-i
PB
U-i
KE
PB
PB
U-i
PC-i
PB
U-i
PB
190
ensue in handling the instrument is very similar to the way postural flow is described
in the Alexander Technique (cf Stevens, 1996: 120). (Please see the references in
table 5.9 for detailed descriptions of postural flow in both methods.)
By creating balance in the body right from the beginning, the necessary playing
movements are able to “spring from a self-propelled action without the need of
forced or consciously manufactured movements” (Havas, 1961: 15). This is of great
importance, as “the slightest physical blockage caused by rigidity in any given part of
the body” will interfere with the “free-flowing channel of total motion and balance”
through which the musical imagination is communicated (Havas, 1973: 77). It is only
a balanced use of the body, free from excess tension, that can enable quick
physiological reactions to be made to the direction of the musical imagination, and
allow the inner ear to function unhampered1.
Both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach improve postural balance, and also
rely on postural balance in order to improve the use of all the separate parts of the body. All
the factors relating to postural balance, as described in table 3.8, are relevant in the New
Approach. The Havas stance is in essence a position of mechanical advantage, from which
it is possible to adapt to changing circumstances quickly and with ease. Havas (1964: 76)
recognises that each point of balance interlocks with and is interdependent of another,
to give a balanced whole. The New Approach aims to eliminate the faulty muscular
tension patterns in the body that disturb postural balance. Havas recognises that it is the
gravitational force of the body through the feet to the ground that stimulate the
postural reflexes, when there is no interference. Through eliminating misuse in the head-
neck relationship, the New Approach ensures that interference with the supporting
reflexes is eliminated, so that they can function optimally. This allows the other reflexes
of the body to function without interference as well, eliminating muscular effort as natural,
self-propelled movements are allowed to unfold.
Table 5.9 contains statements regarding postural balance that show a high degree of
congruence between the Alexander Technique and the New Approach.
1 See 4.4.6.
PB
CF
U-m
PB
D-w
191
Table 5.9. Comparisons: Postural balance
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• A proper stance is not a “mechanical achievement of stability”, (Scott, as cited in De Alcantara, 1997: 110), but a dynamic balance from which it is possible to adapt to changing circumstances without interfering with the integrity of the primary control. This is known as a “position of mechanical advantage” (Barlow, 1973: 202).
• “A good posture has been defined as one which fulfils the purpose for which it is used with maximum efficiency and minimum effort….A good dynamic posture serves as an efficient background to movement. In order to fulfil its function efficiently it must be able to adapt to changing circumstances as movement takes place” (Wright, as cited in Havas 1968: 92).
• “Place your feet at shoulder width…Bend your knees slightly. Then lean forwards slightly…Let your arms hang freely by the side of your trunk” (De Alcantara, 1997: 103). • The monkey “occurs in many situations outside Alexander lessons…in every instance the monkey is a manifestation of good use and functioning…we must consider the monkey truly natural – in accordance with the laws of Nature – and therefore intrinsically right” (De Alcantara, 1997: 204).
• “The feet are separated, the knees bend and the small of the back flattens. The arms hang loosely…The head and neck project forward. The stance is easily visualized by the child as gorilla-like. Gorilla stance becomes a key cue capable of evoking dynamic relaxation in the vertical posture…It succeeds because once cortical control of postural patterning is lifted, what happens is pre-set in the inborn mechanisms fashioned during man’s evolutionary assumption of the biped stance” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 281).
• “The monkey is a position of mechanical advantage. It co-ordinates the use of the back and legs, a precondition to improving other parts of the self, such as the upper limbs or the lips, tongue and jaw” (De Alcantara, 1997: 100). • The supporting reflexes are stimulated by the gravitational force of the body through the feet to the ground, to which the body responds by lengthening up, provided that there is no interference (Dawley, 2001: 9).
• Through experimentation, Hellebrandt (1969: 305) found the New Approach stance to be “the most stable of all postures”. • “Until the mindless operation of postural mechanisms is established through volitional subjugation of cortical interference, the evolution of effortless and graceful natural movements over automatic pathways is impossible. The importance of this preparatory teaching device cannot be overestimated. It is the substrate for much that follows” (Hellebrandt, 1969: 279).
• “When we stand our feet are supported by the floor…(our) legs are being supported by (our) feet….We can continue this process through the rest of the body to the head, following the route of the supporting reflexes to…where the head returns to a free balance on the neck” (Stevens, 1996: 120).
• “Many players were helped…by the image of ‘layers of rest’ – their feet resting on the floor (and at the same time being supported by it), their violin resting on the collar-bone, the bow resting on the string (supported by it underneath), and their hand resting on the bow” (Havas, 1973: 100).
192
5.2.3.3 Attention and awareness
It has already been noted that although both the New Approach and the Alexander
Technique aim to establish a physical use comprising of simple, natural reflex
movements that register kinaesthetically as light, easy and effortless, they both
demand a high degree of focus and attention1. Both methods acknowledge that
changing habitual behaviour demands sustained attention to kinaesthetic feedback2, in
order to recognize and inhibit tension patterns as they arise, as well as to project
directions for improved use.
The centrality of touch in the New Approach ensures increased attention to
kinaesthetic feedback, especially in relation to the instrument3. Attention to aural
feedback is also increased in the New Approach: Havas (1964: 19) stresses that a
feeling of ease in the playing movements and good sound always go together.
Relating the touch to the resulting quality of sound “enhances the awareness of the
pupil” (Havas, 1973: 113). Through increasing sensory and aural feedback in relation
to the instrument in this way, a new creative relationship with the violin is developed
(Bonnici, 1988: 7). The interaction between the player and the instrument becomes
very intimate and responsive, as the violin becomes a living partner in the act of
making music (cf Hellebrandt, 1970a: 423).
The New Approach creates, in effect, an extended field of awareness between the
player and the instrument. By integrating sensory impressions from the body in its
contact with the violin, with the resulting aural feedback, the two fields (i.e. the player
and the violin) are allowed to merge, so that the interaction of the self and the
instrument can be perceived as an ongoing process4. As a result, the subtle tensional
changes that occur within oneself, in the interaction with the instrument, can be
explored and inhibited5 where necessary. The “sensations of muscular tension,
heaviness, stiffness and their opposites” (Jones, 1976: 177) that are generated in
response to the instrument, are therefore not chaotic or meaningless, but provide a key
for changing habitual reactions.
1 See 5.2.3.1 and table 5.8. 2 See 4.4.3, 3.3.10, and the references in table 5.10. 3 See 4.4.5. 4 Cf Jones, 1976: 159, 170 and Hellebrandt 1970a: 423. 5 See 4.4.5 and 4.5.3.
R
KE
A
A
I
D
A
SA-i
KE
A-e
SA-i
A-e
A-e
A-e
SA
A-e
I; SA
A-e
193
It is obvious that the violin does not play itself: “What we hear is the interplay of the
instrument and the performer” (Havas, 1961: 6). The violinist has to be able to adapt
the skills that are required, to the demands imposed by the specific characteristics of
the violin (cf Hellebrandt, 1970a: 423). This interplay between violin and violinist is
entirely dependent the aural and kinaesthetic feedback generated by this system, and
therefore it is essential that mental or physical blockages that could distract the
player’s attention from this feedback be eliminated1.
The New Approach emphasises the need for the player to focus attention on the
musical concepts and goal-images that have been created in the mind through
directing. Kenneson (1974: 90) emphasises that without these “goal-images based on
the perceptions yoked to cello playing”, the cellist can easily fix his or her “explicit
focal attention…on the physical manipulation of the cello rather than on the musical
concepts to be transformed into sound”, leading to interference and misuse.
As the player’s focus of attention becomes completely absorbed in the actual moment
of playing, the past and future are eliminated, together with self-judgement and self-
doubt (cf Havas, 1973: 77). Kenneson (1974: 90) concludes that “becoming aware of
what is happening at the moment and responding only to that awareness has
wonderful results”.
Kenneson, 1974: 90:
The cellist must form the habit of being totally involved in the present moment. The mind must focus on the temporal aspect of the musical design, and the body must be constantly regulated by the information resulting from its sensory perception.
The New Approach has similar requirements as the Alexander Technique with regards to the
need for attention, as stipulated in table 3.9. It requires a very detailed attention to
kinaesthetic feedback, and the critical examination of very delicate shifts of muscle tension
in the body, specifically in the places of contact with the instrument. A certain degree of unity
between mind and body is required in learning the New Approach (cf Havas, 1973: 16) and
1 See 4.5.3.
A-e
A-e
SA
U-m
I
A
D
EG
U-m
A
CF-p
A
A
SA
194
this mind-body unity is developed further through the increase of sensory awareness1. An
extended field of awareness is developed between the player and the violin, through integrating
sensory impressions from both the body and the instrument, thereby allowing the two fields
to merge. Thus, the central pattern of stimulus and response between the violinist and the
violin can be perceived, thereby providing a key for changing habitual reactions.
The New Approach differs from the Alexander Technique in that the extended field of
awareness is developed specifically in the relationship between the player and the instrument,
whereas the Alexander Technique deals with a more general use of the body and its response to
the wider environment. Attention to aural feedback, in addition to sensory feedback, is therefore
a very important factor in the New Approach, although it is not cited as such in the Alexander
Technique. Havas (1994: 3) believes the importance of sound quality to the musician’s well-
being to be essential, and an indispensable factor in overcoming stage fright:
Brodsky, as cited in Havas, 1994: 3:
There is no shortage of non-drug treatment, cognitive therapy, behaviour therapy, hypnosis, Alexander technique, relaxation, but none of them solves the problem…what most people need is something that communicates to them on an auditory level.
Table 5.10 further illuminates the similarities between the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach with regard to the need for attention in changing habitual behaviour, and the extended
field of awareness that is developed in both methods.
1 See 5.2.1.1 and 5.2.1.3.
195
Table 5.10. Comparisons: Attention and awareness
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• Although the benefits of the Alexander Technique are quite clear, what is not guaranteed is “the extent of the trainability of any given person, and their willingness to use what we can teach them” (Barlow, 1973: 217). • “One essential condition for successful teaching is the ability of the pupil to sustain attention for some definable minimum of time” (Jones, 1976: 162). •The pupil “must realise that the learning process involves a most detailed attention on his part…both he and his teacher can never forget what a tall order it is to ask him to disobey habit” (Barlow, 1973: 203). • One becomes increasingly aware of shifts of muscle tension that are “as delicate as the finest touch of the violinist”, but as such directed thinking is initially fairly tenuous, “any fatigue or lessening of attention can put an end to it” (Barlow, 1973: 225).
• Good violin playing “depends on the co-ordination of a host of delicate balances which in turn demand a high degree of mental discipline” Havas (1964: 2). • The pupil needs to be “acquiescent, alert, and motivated. Without these attributes learning is hindered or impossible” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 475). • If the pupil “sticks to the very slow work every day, the new way of playing will gradually become so much part of him, that it will be quite natural and easy. But there is no getting away from it, the ‘bridging over’ period needs a lot of concentration and mental discipline” (Havas, 1961: 64). • “…the results will be amazingly good if you do some silent work every day…Do realize that you are trying to train your mind…Once the mind learns to give the right orders to the right places, your body will have no alternative but to obey” (Havas, 1964: 17).
• “The character of the thinking involved…is an expansion of the field of consciousness…so that you are taking in both yourself and your environment” (Jones, 1976: 192). • “The technique…extends the scope of self-observation a long way beyond the visual by organizing the kinesthetic sense on a conscious level. Once you can observe changing relationships between parts of the body and between the body and the environment in terms of levels of tension and relaxation, of lightness and heaviness, as well as of position and movement, you have opened new areas of the self to scientific exploration” (Jones, 1976: 138).
• Many of the problems of tension and rigidity that violinists struggle with arise from the body’s physical response to touching the instrument (Kenneson, 1974: 11). • “…as our tactile senses respond by nature to the substance of any given texture, there is constant (albeit only subconscious) conflict in the player between his aural desire and the tactile realities” (Havas 1973: 54). • A “whole new relationship develops with the violin” (Bonnici, 1988: 7). The interaction between the player and the instrument becomes very intimate and responsive, as the violin becomes a living partner in the act of making music (cf Hellebrandt, 1970a: 423).
196
5.2.3.4 Control and freedom
The Alexander Technique and the New Approach are in agreement that control and
freedom are obtained through eliminating specific faults and interferences, and not
through a mechanistic, superimposed effort to control movement1. De Alcantara
(1997: 35) calls this “a defining characteristic of the (Alexander) Technique, and a
reason for its effectiveness.” It is an important measure of the profound congruence
between the two methods that it is also a defining feature of the New Approach2.
Although the process of learning to inhibit and direct, requires much attention,
repetition and “time for the conscious thoughts of the directions to be laid down in the
nervous system” (Stevens, 1996: 51), eventually these Alexander procedures are
applied reflexively (De Alcantara, 1997: 164). This requires the willingness to take a
risk, and giving up the desire of trying to be right. While the initial response to the
stimulus for action must be inhibited and the appropriate directions projected,
ultimately one acts without trying to control the outcome (De Alcantara, 1997: 74,
76). As a result, involuntary responses are allowed to come into play, while habitual
reactions are bypassed (De Alcantara, 1997: 77). The reflexive character of the
ensuing movement registers kinaesthetically as easy and effortless, with increased
control, and yet remaining free.
This process is equally true for the New Approach: “Havas prepares both body and
mind, lets happen what will, trusting in the wisdom of Nature, and the violin begins
miraculously to speak” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 479). It takes time and attention to
establish a balanced use of the body, as well as to conceptualise the music, but once
this has been achieved, the final step is that of abandon (Havas, 1973: 127)3. Once
fundamental skills have been mastered, there is “no need for cortical control of the
physical aspects of playing” (Kenneson, 1974: 59). Havas’s frequent injunctions to let
it happen encourage the pupil to risk and lose cortical control, in order to achieve
natural control and freedom4
1 See references in table 5.11. 2 Cf Havas, 1961: 56. See references in table 5.11. 3 See references in table 5.11. 4 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 77.
CF
I; U-m
EG
I; D; A
D-q
R
CF-p
I; D
CF-p
I; U-m
R
KE
CF
D
CF-p
U-i; A
PB; D
CF
CF
197
Kenneson, 1974: 88:
Simple and bold devices related to the musical concepts will trigger the automatic physical responses…If the ideas are sharp and clear, if the cue devices are effective, and if the postural aspects of the body are in a natural state, the transformation will be complete. Musical ideas will be translated into tonal realities with artistic and communicative value….Only two things are necessary: one is that the ‘command’ is indeed ideokinetic, and the other is that one ‘lets it happen naturally’ – that is, lets the total response evolve through the body which is in its most natural state.
As the mental concentration is fully absorbed in the act of pre-hearing and projecting
the music, there simply is no time or place in the performer’s mind to consciously
control the physical movements or to judge the outcome of his or her efforts1, and
therefore the body is free to respond reflexively to the direction of the inner ear
without cortical interference2. This answers to the prerequisites for control and
freedom, as stipulated in table 3.10: giving up trying, and judging one’s efforts,
which merely reinforce end-gaining behaviour (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 72).
The centrality of the organic rhythmic pulse in the New Approach ensures that all
actions are timed precisely, thereby eliminating hesitation and eagerness - another
prerequisite for control and freedom in movement3. As has been illustrated in 5.2.2.3,
all physical movements are co-ordinated with the rhythmic pulse as the activator for
such movement.
Kenneson (1974: 70) elaborates:
The constant use of the rhythmic resource assists the performer in organizing his body movements into meaningful gestures. The pulsing of the rhythm with the body must be encouraged because it is an important unifying device in transforming musical concepts into appropriate physical gestures.
From the above discussion, it is clear that the automation of technique in the New
Approach4 and the Alexandrian automatism5 are conceptually very similar. De
Alcantara (1997: 164) writes that the Alexander procedures should ideally be applied
1 Cf Havas (1973: 77) and Kenneson (1974: 90). See 5.2.3.3. 2 See 4.4.7, 5.2.2.3 and 5.2.3.1. 3 See table 3.10; cf De Alcantara, 1997: 72. 4 See 4.4.7. 5 See 3.3.11.
D D-q PB D-w D-q CF-p
A; D
I
EG
R
CF-p
CF-p
CF-p D-w
198
reflexively, “without the apparent help of the conscious mind and without stopping
the flow of movement to consider its mechanics”, while Havas (1961: 68) stresses that
if there is only one point of control, “the rest of the physical movements can follow by
natural impulses and the mind is left free to re-create and transmit the music though
that one point, instead of being continuously occupied by various physical aspects.”
Kenneson (1974: 90) confirms that “one cannot control movement cortically and at
the same time concern the mind with musical content”.
Havas believes that successful co-ordination in violin playing depends on this
unification and automation of technique. De Alcantara (1997: 57) confirms this, in
saying that “a measure of automatism is an integral part of good co-ordination”.
Reflexive bowing, as it is taught in the New Approach, illustrates this principle well,
and answers to all the prerequisites for control and freedom as stipulated in table
3.10. The movements of the balanced bow arm are timed precisely, as the rhythmic
pulse is the activator for all the physical movement in the body. As the mind is
occupied in directing the music through the left hand interval progression1, there is no
cortical interference with the bow action. Consequently, involuntary, reflexive
responses are allowed to come into play, resulting in more natural and efficient
movements2. Kenneson’s comments in this regard are worth examining in greater
detail (cf Kenneson, 1974: 61-64), but for the purpose of this study, the following
citation will suffice:
Kenneson, 1974: 64:
The mental-physical abandon brought about by the use of spontaneous bowing offers quick and lasting results both to the beginner and to the advanced player dealing with complex articulations. The tone production resulting from the integration of the actions of both sides is quite different from that which results from a mechanical motivation in the bowing arm itself, which is cortically controlled and does not evolve naturally.
Above all, natural control and freedom of movement ultimately depends on
eliminating the misuses of the head, neck and back (De Alcantara, 1996: 77)3. It has
been already shown that the New Approach eliminates such misuse of the head-neck
1 Kenneson, 1974: 61. 2 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 74, 76, 77. 3 See table 3.10.
R; CF-p
D; CF
R; D-w
EG
CF
CF-p
CF-p
D
I; R
CF-p
CF U-m
CF
I; PC-m
199
relationship1 and establishes a balanced, co-ordinated use of the body as a whole2,
making it possible for the pupil to let it happen, so that movement can become free,
natural and efficient.
The New Approach fulfils all the prerequisites for control and freedom as stipulated in table
3.10: the end-gaining attitudes of trying and judging are eliminated3, and the movements are
timed precisely through the stimulus of the organic rhythmic pulse. This has the effect of
eliminating hesitation and eagerness. After a painstaking process of eliminating interferences,
establishing a balanced use of the body and learning to direct, one acts immediately in response
to the “ideokinetic”4 stimulus, without trying to control the outcome. In other words, movement
is allowed to happen, rather than cortically controlled, so that involuntary reactions, arising
from the body’s reflex systems, are encouraged to take place.
The New Approach is in agreement that the natural control and freedom of good use is often
the result of what one stops doing (i.e. eliminating interfering tension and blockages), rather
than increased effort or a mechanistic control of movement. This relates especially to
undoing the misuses of the head, neck and back in the stance and the no-violin hold, which
serves as a basis for all subsequent movement, rendering violin playing easy, with a seemingly
effortless control and expressive freedom.
The New Approach differs from the Alexander Technique in that the self (along with all the
ways in which it tends to interfere with good use) is dissolved “into a free-flowing musical
communication” (Havas, 1973: 127) whereby the pupil becomes able to allow reflexive
movement to take place. However, cortical control of movement has to be inhibited right from
the beginning, in a way that is entirely congruent with the Alexander Technique.
Table 5.11 very clearly points out the considerable equivalence between the two methods with
regard to control and freedom in movement.
1 See 5.2.1.2. 2 See 4.4.4 and 5.2.3.2. 3 See 4.4.2. 4 Cf Kenneson, 1974: 88.
PB
CF
200
Table 5.11. Comparisons: Control and freedom
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “‘Conscious guidance and control’, in Alexander’s expression, does not entail your wilfully controlling every aspect of your every action. Good use and self-awareness are not the result of all that you do, but rather of all that you stop doing. Rather than controlling action, think of allowing it to happen. Undo the misuses of your head, neck, and back, and much that is right, easy, and thoroughly enjoyable will follow of its own accord” (De Alcantara, 1996: 77).
• “The secret of teaching the violin is not so much the question of imparting knowledge. It is the ability to make the road clear for the pupil both physically and mentally so that he can lose whatever constraint he has and as a result is able to just ‘to let it happen’, but not haphazardly trusting to chance and hoping for the best, but through the relaxed control of perfect physical co-ordination which releases the imagination” (Havas, 1961: 56).
• “If conscious guidance and control is a plane to be reached, inhibition and direction together comprise the method of reaching it” (De Alcantara, 1997: 37). • “You conceive the gesture in your mind; you inhibit your motivations to end-gain; you direct the use of your whole self. Then you decide to act. Immediately you take this decision, act!” (De Alcantara, 1997: 76). • “Ideally you should apply the Alexander procedures reflexly – without the apparent help of the conscious mind, and without stopping the flow of movement to consider its mechanics” (De Alcantara, 1997: 164).
• “The so-called ‘natural’ cello player…has removed certain mental-physical obstacles and simply ‘lets it happen’” (Kenneson, 1974: 93). • “Havas prepares both body and mind, lets happen what will, trusting in the wisdom of Nature, and the violin begins miraculously to speak” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 479). • “Although the whole is a process of immense complexity it runs its course automatically and with effortless grace when the motivational drive is directed at the expression of a musical content meaningful to a player conditioned to ‘let it happen’ without cortical interference” (Hellebrandt, 1970b: 477).
• “Alexander’s view is that there is no distinction between the thing being controlled and the control itself. This precludes the possibility if mechanistic, manipulative control of human reaction. Alexander said that ‘control should be in the process, not superimposed.’ This is a defining characteristic of the Technique, and a reason for its effectiveness…For your movements to become truly natural, you must give up whatever control you have of them….The end result of the process of eliminating faults is control” (De Alcantara, 1997: 35).
• “With a phrase like ‘controlled pressure’, Mr…reveals the mechanistic character of his approach and his basic difference with Miss Havas. For ‘controlled pressure’ suggests an effort imposed from without. The control that comes from balance, on the other hand, is an inner quality, a state of relaxed relationship with the instrument through which the musical imagination is free to create the reality – in tone, fluency, and feeling – which is conceived in the idea. Skill is demanded, certainly, but the only effort is the effort of abandon” (Scott, as cited in Havas, 1968: 86).
201
5.3 Other considerations
The considerable similarities between the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach with regard to the teaching process and the use of words will be discussed
in the following section.
5.3.1 Teaching
As in the Alexander Technique, Havas (1973: 112) believes that it is only in forming
a partnership with the pupil that he or she can be guided to self-discovery1. In the
discussion regarding attention in 3.3.10, it was noted that a judgemental, didactic and
authoritarian approach only serves to increase the pupil’s anxiety, thereby slowing
down his or her ability to learn (cf Barlow, 1973: 203). It is for this same reason that
Havas (1973: 111) believes it to be necessary to eliminate the teacher-pupil
relationship2.
Havas, 1961: 57:
In order to develop this trust and self-confidence, it is important that the teacher should not impose anything on the pupil by sheer dogma or overpowering personality. Instead he has to find a happy medium between inspiring the pupil and being able to draw out any latent ability.
Havas (1961: 56) creates an atmosphere of trust and encouragement, and nurtures a
feeling of “absolute confidence on the part of the pupil…in the possibility of his own
progress”. The lesson is based on a mutual exchange of ideas. Instead of “giving an
opinion in the capacity of a teacher” (1973: 112), Havas explores misconceptions with
the pupil in an atmosphere of working together, so that he or she can gain insight into
the exact cause of the difficulty as well as the necessary solution3. It requires a great
deal of tact, clarity and precision on the part of the teacher in order to create the
atmosphere of trust necessary for this process (Havas, 1961: 63).
The method of evaluation is changed from good or bad, which reflects on the students
own ability, to “having a sense of well-being” (Havas, 1973: 112), so that teaching
takes place in a non-judgemental environment. The detailed, non-judgemental
1 See references in table 5.12. 2 See 4.4.2. 3 Cf Havas, 1961: 63 and 1973: 112.
T
T-n
T-n T-g
T
T-g
T-g
T
202
awareness needed from both the pupil and the teacher in this working partnership, is
common to both the New Approach and the Alexander Technique. This process
brings the pupil to self-discovery, while giving him or her the benefit of the teacher’s
own experience in dealing with misuse and insight with regard to the misconceptions
that slow down progress1.
It is clear that both the New Approach and the Alexander Technique denounce end-
gaining systems of teaching, in which failure elicits strong emotional reactions and
anxiety2. Havas (1968: 30) ardently disapproves of pressuring pupils to play pieces
that are far too difficult for them, as this only results in harmful habits that will
inevitably hamper their progress at a later stage. The New Approach, like the
Alexander Technique, follows a very comprehensive means-whereby approach, in
which a pupil is not expected to perform an activity for which he is not sufficiently
co-ordinated3. Going slowly enough in the beginning in order to “get the elementary
rudiments right” (i.e. to teach good use) will allow for faster progress later on (i.e.
improved functioning) (Havas, 1968: 30).
Havas regards the end-gaining attitudes so prevalent in Western society as a prime
cause of the anxiety that leads to stage fright4. Working towards exams and auditions,
rather than viewing violin playing as a creative art, is the origin of many of the
violinist’s mental and physical blockages (Havas, 1973: 11). This is identical to
Jones’s position, that tests are counter-productive as far as the Alexander Technique is
concerned, as they “set the wrong tone by stressing specific ends rather than means”
(Jones, 1976: 154).
Havas, 1973: 9:
Beset with accumulated technical difficulties, examinations, international competitions, the positive side of music-making, the over-riding desire to communicate, soon gives way to anxieties and fears…It is almost inevitable that by the time a student reaches maturity, the importance and the constant evaluation of his own self become the dominant factors in his career – and stop him from fulfilling his potential of the ‘right divine’.
1 Cf Jones, 1976: 153. See table 5.12. 2 See 4.3.2, 4.4.2, 3.4.1 and the references in table 5.12. 3 Cf Havas, 1968: 30. See 4.4.4. 4 Cf Havas, 1973: 104 – 110. See 4.3.2 and 4.4.2.
T
T-g
T-n
T-n
EG
MW
T-g
MW
U-i
EG
U-m
U-m
EG
EG U-m
203
Stevens (1996: 53) cites accurate observation, clear diagnosis and positive, practical
help in overcoming difficulties as the hallmark of good Alexander teaching, and it is
clear that Havas’s teaching philosophy fulfils all these requirements1. Havas (1961:
55) believes teaching to be a vocation, with the tremendous responsibility to nurture
the pupil’s physical and mental well-being, so that his or her psychological urge to
self-expression may find the appropriate channel.
Havas, 1961: 56:
And this is the crux of the matter. The secret of teaching the violin is not so much the question of imparting knowledge. It is the ability to make the road clear for the pupil both physically and mentally so that he can lose whatever constraint he has and as a result is able just to ‘let it happen’, but not haphazardly trusting to chance and hoping for the best, but through the relaxed control of perfect physical co-ordination which releases the imagination.
The New Approach complies with all of the indicators in table 3.11. The teacher and pupil form a
partnership, in which the pupil is guided to self-discovery. This process involves a detailed, non-
judgemental attention and awareness on the part of both student and teacher. Authoritarian,
judgemental attitudes are considered to be counter-productive, as are end-gaining systems of
education that elicit feelings of failure, anxiety and thereby reinforce self-consciousness and self-
doubt. Instead, a means-whereby principle of teaching is followed, providing accurate observation,
clear diagnosis and positive and practical help in solving difficulties.
The statements in table 5.12 demonstrate the depth of congruence regarding the teaching philosophy
of the Alexander Technique and the New Approach
1 Cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 365. See table 5.7.
T-g
T-g
T-g CF U-i
204
Table 5.12. Comparisons: Teaching
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “The aim of teaching…is to bring a pupil to the point of self-discovery” (Jones, 1976: 153). • Procedures that lead to self-consciousness and anxiety in a pupil slows down the learning process by interfering with awareness and attention (Jones, 1976: 154). • A detached form of teaching which relies on a pedagogic, professorial, didactic attitude, is simply not possible” (Barlow, 1973: 203). The teacher forms a partnership with the pupil, with the aim of guiding the pupil to self-discovery, “to apply his new knowledge to the solution of his own problems and become in effect his own expert in the use of himself” (Jones, 1976: 153).
• As a pupil learns “to find out alone where and how he can help himself…the anxiety of having to test his ability in front of the teacher is eliminated…These discussions…help to transform the teacher-pupil relationship into a working partnership” (Havas, 1973: 112). • “Most people know a certain amount of fear, insecurity and lack of self-confidence…when any of these tendencies happens to be accentuated…it can play havoc with the progress of the most talented pupil…In fact, the teacher’s attitude can be the making or breaking of such a student, not only from the standpoint of music…” (Havas, 1961: 56).
• “The imperfectly coordinated student …cannot do anything ‘correctly’ at the start; he is bound to have failures no matter how hard he tries. Under the present end-gaining system of learning, failure brings with it strong emotional reactions and a pattern of anxiety that is never gotten rid off…If a means-whereby principle were used in teaching, Alexander said, the pupil would not be asked to perform an act until he was in such a state of coordination that he could perform it easily. An occasional failure…would (then) merely add to the pupil’s knowledge of his own responses” (Alexander, as cited in Jones, 1976: 41).
• “…it was an accepted fact that one should go very slowly in the beginning to get the elementary rudiments right. Then, as a result of this, progress became quicker and quicker, and the works more and more demanding…(Here) there is a very big pressure put on beginners almost immediately to play pieces which are far too difficult for them. And this tends to result in such bad habits that later on they have to slow down, and out of sheer necessity become less demanding both with their progress and with their standard of playing” (Havas, 1968: 30).
• “You can’t teach someone else an improved use of himself until your own manner of use has improved…Before he can impart what he knows to others, a teacher must have experienced in himself enough change to understand the process operationally. When a person starts teaching the Alexander Technique, he does not thereby stop learning it. On the contrary, he should be learning as much from a lesson as the pupil is” (Jones, 1976: 153).
• “…any method, however carefully and scientifically evolved and tested, is treacherous ground for a non-initiate” (Chapman, as cited in Havas, 1968: 99). • “…if one is aware of the principles of motion and balance, one’s practising goes on while teaching…The act of applying these principles to pupils of all standards throughout the day is as good as if one applied them to oneself” (Havas, 1973: 128).
• “There have always been failures of pupils to learn the Alexander Technique…Some…may have been due to bad teaching – to the teacher’s ineptness with words, or his inability to convey the kinesthetic experience in a meaningful way, or his refusal to adapt his way of teaching to the pupil’s needs…good teaching certainly speeds up the process of learning” (Jones, 1976: 162).
• “But be the pupil old or young, professional or amateur…his progress and development are up to the teacher. For if the teacher knows how to teach, the pupil’s attention is immediately arrested, his imagination is aroused and often his enthusiasm knows no bounds” (Havas, 1961: 65).
205
5.3.2 Words
It has been noted in 5.2.2.1 that Havas clearly recognizes that words by themselves
are not sufficient to convey sensory information - the teacher’s guidance is
indispensable in order to enable the pupil to experience the balanced use of him- or
herself1. In this process, clearly defined directions become linked to kinaesthetic
experience2.
Havas (1973: 96) recognises that the words used in teaching can have a profound
effect on one’s physical use, eliciting either tension, or creating ease and flexibility.
Jones (1976: 172) confirms that one’s response to words includes a kinaesthetic
component that is observable to someone who has gained sufficient awareness to
notice very slight shifts of muscle tension in the body. He suggests that such stimulus-
words can be identified by the disruptive effect they have on the reflex pattern, and
even classified according to the amount of reflex disturbance that they create within
the body (Jones, 1976: 172). The following citation shows that this is precisely what
Havas does:
Havas, 1973: 96:
A word which may make all the difference to one player may not have any meaning at all to another. But there are a handful of words which I have found create similar reactions in most players. These can be divided into two categories: words which arouse tension and anxiety and words which create ease and flexibility.
She lists several of these words, together with the most common reactions that she has
observed in her vast teaching experience (Havas, 1973: 96 – 98). The tables in
appendix C give a summary of some of these words, as identified by Havas in Stage
fright (1973: 96+), together with reference to the related activity and the response
elicited by the particular word.
Madden (2002) stresses that one’s language choices reveal one’s thinking: “what we
think expresses itself physically in exactly the way we are thinking it”3. Havas
recognizes this very clearly, and goes to great lengths to clarify the language and 1 Cf Havas, 1961: 59. 2 See 5.2.2.3. 3 See 3.4.2.
W
GM
SA-i
W
W
U-m; U-i
A
U-m
U-m U-i
W
206
ideas relating to technique. For instance, she cautions that accepting the idea of
strength in a percussive left hand finger action (as opposed to a finger-action based on
balance), will inevitably express itself physically in pressure, rigidity and immobility
in the contact of the fingertip with the string, negatively affecting intonation, tone and
vibrato (Havas, 1961: 28). By insisting on mental rehearsal, i.e. mentally projecting a
movement rather than merely repeating it over and over, Havas ensures that thinking
is clarified, resulting in a more satisfactory physical expression of such thought than
repetitive mechanical practising could ever bring about1.
Another point raised by Madden (2002), is the need for language that is anatomically
more accurate, in order to communicate clearly in the teaching of coordination.
“Anatomical mis-mapping creates interference in the human systems”, leading to
excessive work (Madden, 2002). Havas (1964: 17) is in complete agreement: in
tracing each movement to its biological source (i.e. identifying the key cues for the
fundamental balances), movement becomes more coordinated and natural, as
excessive work and faulty movements are eliminated.
Havas, 1964: 2:
The difficulties lie in the false notion that violin playing depends on some sort of superimposed pressure or force. This mistaken idea inevitably results in faulty movements….This is what every player must learn from the very beginning: where the fundamental balances concerning violin playing are and the control and co-ordination of them from the mind…So, tempting as it is to think about the action which we can see…concentration should be focused on the source which causes it to move.
When one does not realise that the base knuckles are the motivators for the left hand
finger action, the fingertips can “be tempted to take over” (Havas, 1961: 32), causing
rigidity in the left hand. However, knowing where the biological motivation for the
movement is, allows one to “give the right orders to the right places”, resulting in
improved physical use, as the “body will have no alterative but to obey” (Havas,
1964: 17).
1 See 4.4.3. Also see references in table 5.13 for further examples in this regard.
W-n
U-m
D
U-i
W
W-n
U-i
U-m; I
U-m D
D
U-i
207
Madden (2002) also notes that one continually has to observe “the effects of language
and to tailor the language individually when necessary”, as different people interpret
language and images differently. Havas (1973: 96) recognises that not all words have
the same connation for all people1. She continually seeks to refine her method and the
use of terminology, in order to obtain the best release from tension in her students, as
illustrated by the following excerpt:
Havas, 1973: 45:
…experience has taught me that rigidity in the left-hand finger action was such a universal and pernicious problem that in extreme cases expressions such as ‘sideways vertical action’ or ‘forward throw’…were not enough to induce total release, even though the lightness of the action and the lack of pressure were sufficiently stressed. So I have changed these expressions to a ‘lateral slide’ of the finger action with a ‘backward tilt’ of the base joints, with excellent results.
Havas has a profound understanding of the tremendous influence that words can have on one’s
coordination, and takes great care to eliminate inadequate terminology that could cause
misconceptions leading to misuse. The choice of words and directions used in New
Approach teaching is carefully considered, to ensure anatomical accuracy in the mental
orders given to the body. The importance of mentally clarifying the directions before acting
them out, shows that Havas recognises that what one thinks expresses itself physically in
exactly the way in which one thinks it.
The references in table 5.13 demonstrate considerable similarity between the New Approach
and the Alexander Technique with regard to the use of words.
1 See table 5.13.
W-n
W
U-i
U-m
W W
208
Table 5.13. Comparisons: Words
The Alexander Technique The New Approach to violin playing
• “The obvious application of a kinaesthetic standard is in problems that are commonly classed as physical, like the improvement of posture or the reduction of fatigue. There is …however, a kinaesthetic element in all behaviour, and the standard, once it has been established, can be used with equal profit to throw light on problems that are thought of as predominantly ‘mental’. Take, for example, verbal communication. It frequently happens that words…act as stimuli to set off a train of thoughts whose character is determined more by past experiences than by the actual context…such a response involves marked kinaesthetic components and will identify itself in a trained subject by its disruptive effect on the reflex pattern. Anyone who is interested can by this means identify stimulus-words according to the amount of reflex disturbance they create within himself” (Jones, 1976: 172). • “Different people interpret language and images differently, so it is necessary to continue observing the effects of language and to tailor the language individually when necessary” (Madden, 2002).
• “Often, when a person seems quite unable to release his tensions even when the movements are correct, using a word which creates a feeling of harmony and peace in him affords immediate results. Now, obviously these reactions are highly individual and in most cases totally subconscious. A word which may make all the difference to one player may not have any meaning at all to another. But there are a handful of words which I have found create similar reactions in most players. These can be divided into two categories: words which arouse tension and anxiety and words which create ease and flexibility” (Havas, 1973: 96). • “The very term violin-hold can create such far-reaching tensions and anxieties in many players that it is advisable to eliminate the terminology altogether. I have found that words like rest, place, link, nestle, cradle, not only manage to replace the traditional expression of violin-hold successfully, but that they create an active and curative thought process as well” (Havas, 1973: 27).
• The choice of words that are used in directing has a profound effect on co-ordination; “language reveals thinking…what we think expresses itself physically in exactly the way we are thinking it” (Madden, 2002). • In order to obtain better use, it is essential to find terminology that is anatomically more correct, as “anatomical mis-mapping creates interference in the human systems”, leading to excessive work (Madden, 2002). • “If we wish to communicate most clearly in the teaching of coordination, it is worth the effort to be anatomically accurate in our choices of language… Our students work diligently to carry out what we ask them to do; we serve them best by making our requests as accurate as we can” Madden, 2002).
• “The difficulties lie in the false notion that violin playing depends on some sort of superimposed pressure or force. This mistaken idea inevitably results in faulty movements….This is what every player must learn from the very beginning: where the fundamental balances concerning violin playing are and the control and co-ordination of them from the mind…So, tempting as it is to think about the action which we can see…concentration should be focused on the source which causes it to move” (Havas, 1964: 2). • “Once the mind learns to give the right orders to the right places, your body will have no alternative but to obey” (Havas, 1964: 17).
209
5.4 Conclusion
The New Approach shows considerable equivalence with each of the fundamental
concepts of the Alexander Technique, as delineated in the ‘Framework of key
concepts’ in 3.5.1.
5.4.1 Summary
The New Approach recognises the vital importance of the primary control in the
optimal functioning of the violinist, and the New Approach exercises are specifically
designed to eliminate interference with the head-neck relationship and the postural
reflexes. Another major consideration in the New Approach procedures is to heighten
the sensory awareness of the violinist, especially in relation to the instrument.
The New Approach teacher provides an intervention into the pupil’s use through
guided movement and touch. This intervention is always aimed at making a student
aware of the blockages that cause inefficient functioning in playing the violin, so that
they may be eliminated and replaced with directions for improved use. The directions
are carefully worked out in conjunction with the student, so that he or she has a very
clear conception of the coordinative processes that are involved in recreating the
improved use that was experienced with the teacher’s guidance. The verbal directions
used in teaching are therefore always linked to actual sensory experience.
Inhibition, or stopping, is a key consideration in the New Approach, as the pupil first
has to inhibit the end-gaining motivations that lead to misuse, in order to consider the
step-by-step means whereby improved use can be obtained. Likewise, a pupil has to
inhibit the desire to perform an action, in order to allow the teacher to guide the
movement. Physical movements all take place in response to the stimulus of the
voice, combined with the organic rhythmic pulse, instead of being actively executed
with muscular effort. The physical movements that are elicited in the New Approach
are all reflexive in nature, and the pupil has to be able to inhibit cortical control in
order to allow these movements to unfold.
The New Approach proceeds from the integrated and balanced use of the body as the
basis for all subsequent movement. This improved postural balance is achieved
through eliminating interferences and applying the New Approach exercises for
210
establishing the fundamental balances with the guidance of the New Approach
teacher. The ensuing physical movements are frequently described as being easy, light
and effortless. Awareness and attention are also enhanced when physical rigidity and
tension are eliminated, thereby increasing the coordination of the mind and the body.
The violinist experiences an extended field of awareness in relation to the instrument,
so that the instrument is perceived as an extension of the body in expressing the
performer’s musical vision.
The directions for improved use in the New Approach are all linked to the organic
rhythmic pulse and the musical intention of the performer. All physical aspects of
playing the instrument are eventually integrated into one central point of musical
direction through the left hand finger action. As the performer’s mind is completely
focused in this musical direction, the tendency to impose a conscious, mechanistic
control on the physical aspects of playing the instrument is eliminated. Consequently,
interferences are greatly reduced and reflex movements are allowed to come into play.
These effortless and efficient movements allow the performer to experience natural
control and freedom in playing the violin.
The New Approach also shows considerable parallels with the teaching practice of the
Alexander Technique, as described in 3.4. The New Approach teacher forms a
partnership with the student, in order to lead the pupil to self-discovery and self-
mastery. This process demands detailed, non-judgemental attention and awareness to
kinaesthetic feedback from both the teacher and the pupil. The teaching follows a very
strong means-whereby principle, always with an inside-outward emphasis. End-
gaining practises and thoughts are the antithesis of New Approach philosophy, and
are systematically uncovered and eliminated1.
The use of words in the teaching process is carefully considered. A distinction is
made between words that arouse tension and those that create ease and flexibility.
Words and images that elicit soft responses in the body are favoured. The words and
ideas relating to technique are clarified in order to avoid misconceptions regarding the
anatomical functioning of the body. Finally, the New Approach recognises that
1 See 5.2.1.1 and 5.2.2.2.
211
sensory information cannot be conveyed through words alone, and the directions for
improved use are always linked to sensory experience obtained through the teacher’s
guidance.
5.4.2 Influence
Given the extent of equivalence between the two methods, the question arises as to
the degree of direct influence Alexander may have had on the formulation of the New
Approach. Havas herself does not refer to Alexander as an influence in any of her
books, and in a personal interview1 with her in Oxford in 2003, she categorically
denied any such influence, as well as any experiential knowledge of the Technique.
In all of the literature relating to the New Approach, Perkins (1995: 23) gives the only
reference directly linking Alexander to Havas as an influence, asserting that Havas
“often refers to Alexander’s principles throughout her writings”. On closer
investigation2, this was shown to be a misrepresentation. Karen Davy, one of the New
Approach teachers consulted by Perkins in her research, confirms that Havas has
never cited Alexander as a direct influence. She states: “in a way it's true that Kato
refers to Alexander's principles, but certainly not by name, rather by nature” (Karen
Davy, personal communication3, 9 Aug 2004). It appears that Perkins misunderstood
that to mean that Alexander had been an influence (as she implies in her book), when
in fact it had only been pointed out by the New Approach teachers that many of the
principles of the New Approach are similar to those found in the Alexander
Technique.
The nature of the misunderstanding becomes clearer when it is noted that Perkins
(1995: 23) cites both Alexander and Hellebrandt as influential authors, when in fact
Hellebrandt’s articles in The Strad were written a decade after Havas had established
and introduced her method: three of Havas’s books had been published (1961, 1964
and 1968) before the Hellebrandt articles appeared in 1969 and 1970. Havas does
refer to Hellebrandt’s articles in Stage fright (1973) in order to clarify certain points,
but it is clearly fallacious to imply that Hellebrandt had been an actual influence on
1 See appendix D. 2 See the correspondence in appendix E. 3 See E.3.2 in appendix E.
212
Havas’s formulation of the method. Perkins’s use of the heading “Influential Authors”
(1995: 23) with reference to Alexander and Hellebrandt is therefore completely
misleading.
In further correspondence, Havas (personal communication1, 11 Sept 2004) once
again confirmed that she had not known of the Alexander Technique until students
started to comment on similarities between the New Approach and the Alexander
Technique. In this letter Havas also notes that the New Approach has been likened to
many other disciplines, such as Tai-Chi and yoga, of which she also has no
knowledge. It is only in Stage fright that Havas (1973: 77, 85) first makes indirect
reference to the Alexandrian concepts: she quotes from a foreword to Bonpensiere’s
New pathways to piano technique, written by Aldous Huxley2, who had been an
ardent follower of Alexander. By the time Stage fright (1973) was written, however,
the New Approach had been formulated and established for more than a decade.
These references could therefore only serve as a clarification, not as an actual
influence. When these issues were pointed out to Perkins3, she conceded that her book
“is not intended to be viewed in any way as the definitive background guide to the
New Approach, especially historically, as Kato herself, her writings…are obviously
the ultimate authorities on that subject” (Marianne Murray Perkins, personal
communication4, 26 Sept 2004).
It is entirely plausible that Havas could independently have developed a way of
teaching that is based on the same principles of human functioning and learning, as
formulated in the Alexander Technique. Jones (1976: 153) emphasises the importance
of making a distinction between “what Alexander discovered and the method he used
for imparting his discovery to others”. He further states that the “principle of
inhibition and the primary control existed before Alexander discovered it…(and) can
undoubtedly be discovered again, not necessarily by the same route” (Jones, 1976:
154). This is borne out by many examples in literature.
1 See E.1.2 in appendix E. 2 See 3.2.1. 3 See E.2.3 in appendix E. 4 See E.2.4 in appendix E.
213
For instance, Daniel Pevsner (1980), a professional working with horses who later
also became an Alexander teacher, found “a great resemblance between the ideals of
good posture and locomotion, as applied to horses or to people”, and noted a distinct
similarity in the concepts and procedures involved in attaining these ideals in the two
disciplines. In commenting on the dressage practised by the Spanish Riding School of
Vienna, he notes that the riders carried themselves “as if they had all undergone
thorough training in the (Alexander) technique”, although this had not been the case
(Pevsner, 1980). He concluded: “in order to become a really top class rider, one
would have to develop qualities that would be instantly recognised and appreciated by
an Alexander teacher” (Pevsner, 1980).
In the light of the broad range of disciplines that recognize parallels with the
Alexander Technique, including therapies seeking to improve mental well-being such
as psychotherapy and behavioural therapy, Barlow (1973: 133) concluded that the
“Alexander principle of USE may indeed be as fundamental to Psychology as MASS
is to Physics”. De Alcantara (1997: 280) also mentions the universality of the
Alexandrian concepts and principles:
De Alcantara, 1997: 280:
I have had teachers of aikido and of singing, for instance, whose work was suffused with the principles of the Technique, even though these teachers had never done any Alexander work. The Technique is based upon universal principles that inevitably crop up in other spheres of knowledge and activity.
It seems clear that the New Approach is also based on these universal principles. In
her evaluation of the New Approach, Hellebrandt (1970b: 479) found that the
teaching devices that Havas developed intuitively, all appear to have a biological
rationale, explaining the method’s innovative efficacy.
Hellebrandt 1969: 277:
All appear to be explainable in the light of neurophysical mechanisms regulating coordination and movement. Havas deserves great credit for recognising the manifestations of autonomous regulation, exploiting their pedagogical implications, and proving their validity in all age groups and at any level of technical proficiency.
214
As both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach are based on biomechanical
and neuro-physiological principles1, and it is therefore not surprising that there should
be a large degree of congruence between the two methods. It is a tribute to the genius
of both Alexander and Havas that they arrived at their respective methods intuitively,
through trial-and-error experimentation, and without prior academic study of these
principles2.
1 See 2.2 and 4.5. Havas (1973: 28) herself does not place great store on a knowledge of “neurophysiology, kinesiology or biomechanical motor behaviour”, and states categorically: “even if one devoted one’s life to these studies, it would be difficult to achieve total coordination (such as violin playing demands) from a set of rules”. 2 Cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 277. See 3.2.2.
215
Chapter 6
Participatory action research
6.1 Introduction
Jones, 1976: 139:
By itself, sensory evidence is not enough. It must be supported by anatomical and physiological reasoning. On the other hand, reasoning alone is not enough either. No matter how well a theory is constructed, it does not become valid until it has been put to the test of experience – to sensory verification.
The extensive literature study that culminated in the comparison of the New Approach
and the Alexander Technique in the previous chapter forms the conceptual framework
for the subjective account of actual experience that will be given in this section. The
purpose of this chapter is not to give a comprehensive account or description of all the
New Approach exercises and procedures, and the reader is referred to Havas’s
teaching video (Havas, 1991) and her books for more information in this regard.
Detailed descriptions of many of the New Approach exercises can also be found in the
beginner’s method books that Bakhshayesh (1985; 1991) based on Havas’s principles.
It is not possible to experience fully all that the New Approach has to offer in a
concentrated series of lessons such as I had, or to give an adequate account thereof in
a report of this nature. Only personal experience and application of the method over
an extended period of time can do justice to the complexity and depth to be found in
the New Approach (cf Kenneson, 1974: 93). However, the basic New Approach
exercises and principles included in the ‘Six Lesson Course’ do have immediate and
measurable results (cf Havas, 1961: 63), so that there are sufficient data to analyse for
parallels with the Alexander Technique. The teaching procedures Havas uses to
convey information are, to a large extent, also the object of study in this section, and
the lessons with her and Gloria Bakhshayesh over a two-week period in July 2003
afford enough data for this purpose.
Due to the constraints of this study, a selection of the New Approach principles and
exercises, as applied and experienced in the lessons and workshop, will be made for
discussion in this report. The ‘Framework of key concepts’ (see 3.5.1) will be used as
the measuring tool once again, to bring parallels between the New Approach and the
216
Alexander Technique to light. Where applicable, reference will also be made to
experiences and discussions in the Alexander lessons with Vivien Mackie (London,
July 2003) and Yvonne Becker (Cape Town, 2003-2004), which show significant
resonance with New Approach procedures. For the sake of conceptual clarity, data
obtained from the lessons and workshop have been organised according to specific
themes, rather than presented in the chronological order of experience.
6.2 The lessons
During the lessons in Oxford (July, 2003), Havas mentioned that some of her ideas
have evolved since writing Stage fright (1973), due to her continual search for more
effective procedures. As a result, some of the exercises presented in the books are
applied differently today, although the ultimate aim of the New Approach procedures
remains the same (cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 277).
6.2.1 The rhythmic pulse and the stance
At the first lesson, Havas spent considerable time to clarify the precise nature of the
organic, rhythmic pulse and its importance in transmitting energy outward in a
communicative flow. She explained that, in an effort to defend ourselves against the
stress and anxieties in violin performance, we tend to tighten and harden
unconsciously, thereby blocking this energy flow through the body and consequently
stifling musical communication1.
Havas emphasised that the rhythmic pulse is not merely a succession of static beats
(such as one can observe in an electronic metronome), but that the pulses are
interconnected, with sense of movement from the one pulse to the next (such as can
be observed in the swinging pendulum of a mechanical metronome). The
interconnected movement of the legs in an activity such as ice-skating was also used
as a metaphor to illustrate the nature of the rhythmic pulse. Havas was insistent that
the music happens in the journey between the notes - it is only as the whole body is
suffused with the rhythmic pulse that musical communication can take place2.
1 See 4.2.2 and 4.4.2. At the workshop in Oxford (19th July, 2003), Havas also noted that when we are exposed to criticism, our bodies tend to become rigid – a comment often expressed by Yvonne Becker during my Alexander lessons with her. 2 Cf Havas, 1973: 19. See 4.4.2.
U-m
217
Rigidity in any of the joints blocks this pulse; conversely, learning to apply the
rhythmic pulse in the stance helps to bring to light and dissolve hidden tensions1.
It is worth noting at this point that Mackie (2000) gives very similar descriptions in
illuminating the resonance she found in Casals’s teaching and playing with the
Alexander Technique. Mackie (2000: 87) describes an “animal rhythm” which
pervades the whole body, not merely existing in one’s mind or feet when counting or
tapping beats, and conjectures that real musicality and this “animal rhythm” are in
essence the same thing. Mackie (2000: 88) also observes that ill-conceived technique
sometimes puts the musician’s natural elasticity out of reach, and like Havas2, makes
specific reference to a hammer-like action in the left hand, which creates a “block of
tightness that deprives the brain of the stretch information which allows the rest of the
body to give full play to this natural animal rhythm” (Mackie, 2000: 88).
The similarity between the New Approach stance and the monkey in the Alexander
Technique has been described in 5.2.3.2, and this was confirmed to me in the practical
experience of the two methods. In an Alexander lesson with Vivien Mackie (London,
July 2003), she guided me into a monkey, where I stood with my spine against and
aligned with the corner of a doorway, with a slight bending or giving in the knees.
Mackie emphasised a springiness, or aliveness, throughout the whole body.
Likewise, Havas (1964: 4) describes the stance as though one were standing with
one’s back against a wall, with a sensation of tilting the weight backwards onto the
bottom of the spine and the heels, and with springy knees that are slightly bent. In the
lessons in Oxford (July, 2003), Havas emphasised that one rides on a springy
(imaginary) support, such as a stool or third leg, which is situated at the bottom of the
spine, when applying the rhythmic pulse in the stance. This exercise is described in
detail in Stage fright (1973: 19), where Havas notes that one should imagine “that the
body is made of coils of spring…which rides on the elasticity of the knee bends” (cf
Havas, 1991).
1 Cf Havas, 1973: 18. See 4.4.4. 2 Cf Havas, 1973: 43. See 4.4.4.
U-m
SA-i; I
U-m
U-m
SA-l
PB
PB
218
When Havas demonstrated this movement to me (Oxford, July 2003), while
simultaneously clapping the pulse and counting out loud, her movements were very
small and light. In contrast to clapping a static pulse, which she initially demonstrated,
this organic pulse involved a subtle but total freedom in all the joints in her body,
including her knees and wrists, with a sense of energy being transmitted outward.
There was indeed a springy aliveness in all her movements.
When I joined her in pulsing, counting out loud and clapping, the movement in my
knees was much bigger and uncoordinated – my knees bent before I said the pulse,
and I did not experience the grace of movement that she demonstrated. Havas
emphasised that the voice is the major control, and that the movement of the knees
should merely respond to and mirror the character of the voice articulating the pulse
(which can vary according to the character of the music). In other words, the
movement of the pulse throughout the body, including the knees, takes place in
response to the voice, instead of actively doing or initiating the movement physically
with the knees. Havas also pointed out that my wrists were straight and rigid, and not
flexible and giving – a fact of which I had been completely unaware. Once she had
pointed this out, however, I noticed how this rigidity in my hands blocked the
transmission of the rhythmic energy.
This exercise also made me aware of the lack of coordination not only in my body,
but also between my mind and body. Through actively trying to do the movement
with physical effort, the pulse as I said it with my voice and the pulse as expressed in
my body movements were two different things – in other words, my physical
movements were not expressing my thought and intent, and my mind was
disconnected from my body. With continued work with Havas and later with
Bakhshayesh, my pulsing eventually became lighter, easier and more gracefully
coordinated as I allowed my body to respond to my voice (i.e. my mental direction).
In repeating the pulsing and clapping exercise in lessons with Bakhshayesh (Marple,
July 2004), she noted that I tended to lift my chin and tensed my neck, a fact that I
had not been aware of. This is a clear indication that I was interfering with the
primary control (although she did not use this terminology), which resulted in my
uncoordinated movements. Bakhshayesh stressed that pulsing and clapping in this
U-i
U-m
D
D-w
U-m
SA-l
SA-i
SA-i
U-m
EG
U-m
U-i; KE
D
PC-m
SA-l
PC-m
U-m
219
way always shows up where the tension spots in the body are, so that by identifying
them, they can be eliminated. She particularly stressed the importance of keeping the
neck free at all times. Repeating this exercise while keeping my head still and my
neck free, brought about an immediate improvement in my coordination.
In applying this exercise to my pupils over the period of a year, I found that virtually
all of them, to differing degrees, initially displayed the same tendencies: the static,
inward clapping with rigid hands instead of the small, upward and circular pulsing
movements with flexible wrists (as was demonstrated by Havas), and excessive,
jerking knee movements that are not coordinated with the rest of the body or with the
voice. Although (to my knowledge) it is not applied in the New Approach in this way,
I found that when I lightly supported the base of the skull with my hand to stop a
pupil from retracting the neck - as Alexander teachers often do when guiding a pupil
in activity1 – it immediately brings about a reduction in effort throughout the pupil’s
body, so that the movement in the knees becomes barely noticeable. The pupil’s
movements become smaller, lighter and more graceful, as well as more coordinated,
approximating the pulsing as Havas had demonstrated it to me. All of the pupils who
have had this experience, commented that the pulsing seemed much easier to do, and
more pleasurable.
This suggests that riding on the pulse, as taught in the New Approach, is not possible
to do correctly while there is interference with the primary control, and consequently
the postural reflexes2. Working with the New Approach teacher in exploring and
releasing the interfering tensions, will bring about an improvement in the total
locomotor pattern, with it’s integrating effect on the coordination of the body as a
whole3. Although the improvement in coordination is instantly noticeable when the
organic pulsing is applied correctly, I found that tension blockages do reappear again
from time to time in a pupil’s pulsing. These tensions then have to be released again,
but the kinaesthetic memory of the improved use obtained in previous attempts makes
this progressively easier. With continued practise, this exercise helps to establish a
1 See 5.2.2.1. 2 See 5.2.3.2. 3 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 27. See 3.3.3.
U-m
I
PC-i
U-i
U-m
GM
I; PC-m
U-i
KE
KE
PC-m
I
PC-i
U-m
I
SA-i
220
balanced use of the whole body, and it forms the basis for all other New Approach
procedures, including internalising the music away from the instrument.
An earlier experience in the Alexander lessons with Vivien Mackie (London, July
2003) confirms the importance of releasing physical tension blockages in order to
maintain balance and a rhythmic pulse in the body. I was asked to step onto a wobble
board, on which one balances by rhythmically stepping from side to side. As I
attempted to place my viola in order to play while wobbling, I lost the even rhythmic
balance on the wobble board, which made me aware that I had stiffened my body by
leaning backwards as I lifted the instrument – something I had not noticed earlier. On
repeating the exercise, this time not leaning backwards, I was able to maintain an even
rhythmic pulsing throughout the manoeuvre. Likewise, during the performance of a
work while balancing on the wobble board, I became aware that the wobble rhythm
became unstable during certain passages, once again indicating that I had stiffened my
body, this time in response to the perceived difficulty of the passage. This confirms
Havas’s view that any tension blockage will interfere with the “inside-outward
rhythmic energy impulses” through which “organic communication” takes place
(Havas, 1973: 29).
De Alcantara supports the importance that the New Approach gives to the rhythmic
pulse, and its centrality to musical communication. As with ordinary thought, musical
thought has a certain hierarchy, with rhythm being a key consideration that should
never be taken for granted (De Alcantara, 1997: 202). He states that “most musical
difficulties are caused by a lack of rhythmic clarity”, and that rhythmic precision and
forward motion are to be considered before other factors, such as intonation, sound-
production and even accuracy (De Alcantara, 1997: 202). Musical continuity is a
function of good use, and facilitates technical security. De Alcantara (1997: 190)
further notes that one’s physical gestures at the instrument can only be manifestations
of “interpretative freedom” once inner mastery of rhythm has been gained, but prior to
that they “are primarily manifestations of technical shortcomings”.
It is often pointed out in the New Approach that physical blockages will cause a
distortion of physical movement in the body. During a lesson with Bakhshayesh
(Marple, July 2003), she mentioned that when there is tension in a joint that needed to
PB
I; U-m
U-m
SA-l
I
U-m
U-m
U-m
U-i
U-m
U-m
U-m
221
be free to move, there will inevitably be a compensatory movement elsewhere in the
body. In observing a New Approach lesson given by Havas, Bonnici (1988: 1) noticed
that tension in the particular pupil’s left shoulder caused the rhythmic pulse to become
“a gyration in her body”, and that once Havas helped her to identify and release the
tension, the compensating movement stopped and “her playing improved beyond
belief”.
There are similar accounts from musicians in applying the Alexander Technique.
According to Jones (1976: 136), “musicians frequently report that with the
(Alexander) technique they have greater control over timing and rhythm”. It is clear
that by eliminating physical tensions and blockages, both the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique bring about an improvement in rhythmic clarity, a balanced use
of the body and consequently an increase in expressive freedom.
6.2.2 Winging
Another of the New Approach exercises, designed with the specific purpose of
eliminating tension in the body and promoting fluid joints, is the winging, which
prepares the arms and hands for the essential bowing movements. A precursor of this
exercise is described in The twelve lesson course (1968: 10) and Stage fright (1973:
21), which both emphasise the light, wing-like and suspended position of the arms.
Both Perkins (1995: 73) and Bakhshayesh (1985: 4) give a description of the winging
as it is taught today, and it is demonstrated by Havas in her teaching video (1991).
In the lessons with Havas (Oxford, July 2003), she first demonstrated this exercise to
me, emphasising the balanced position of her arms, which she then proceeded to
swing gently back and forth, with a sideways, horizontal movement from the shoulder
hinges. Even though this movement had just been modelled to me, when I repeated
the exercise, I tended to angle my elbows downward (as incorrectly illustrated in the
photograph in Perkins’s book (1995: 74)), without any awareness that what I was
doing, did not accurately mirror the movement as demonstrated by Havas.
Havas pointed this out, adjusting my elbows so that I was able to find the horizontal,
suspended and floating position. She then gently manipulated my shoulder hinges, so
that my arms released out of their sockets in a sideways movement, swinging to and
U-m
I
U-i
I; U-m
U-i
I; U-m
U-m
SA-u
GM
GM-h
222
fro. This movement was incredibly light and free, and it was a revelation to discover
the ease and effortlessness with which my arms could move, as well as the exact
position of the shoulder hinges, which felt springy and elastic. Havas emphasised that
when a player is in perfect balance, this movement becomes a totally self-propelled
action, and it did seem to me that, as I was using no effort at all, my arms could
continue in this swinging movement indefinitely without becoming fatigued.
In repeating this exercise with Gloria Bakhshayesh (Marple, July 2003), she noticed
that I tended to make a nodding movement with my head while winging, and once
again, I had been completely unaware of this. Like Havas had done, she adjusted my
arms and did the movement for me. It felt even more springy and lighter than before,
and I noticed that this time the movement was only in my arms. I became aware that I
had previously tried to wing using some effort from my shoulders as well, instead of
just allowing the arms to release out sideways from their sockets. Bakhshayesh
commented that my head was no longer nodding along with the winging, and
reiterated that tension and rigidity in the joints that need to move, will inevitably
cause compensatory movement elsewhere, while doing the right movement will allow
the unnecessary movement to stop.
I had also thought of inhibiting the movement of my head while she was doing the
winging for me, and these two factors had brought about an experience of improved
use that gave me a new sensation and consequently a new understanding of the
exercise. Although I had thought that I understood the winging and was doing it
correctly, there were still interfering tensions involved in my movements that were
outside of my own awareness. However, the experience of the movement facilitated
by Bakhshayesh brought me to a true kinaesthetic knowledge of the movement.
In discussing the application of the Alexander principles to string playing, Stein
(1999: 75) comments that many musicians tend to lean into the instrument, or draw
their arms into the torso, which creates pressure in the shoulder joints. He advises that
to avoid this, “the arms should be allowed to release out of the back where the
shoulder blades attach to the upper arm”, creating opposition between the joints of the
body as well as between the arms and torso (Stein, 1999: 75).
KE
KE
KE
U-m
SA-l
GM; KE
SA-i
PC-i
U-m
U-i
I
GM; U-i
SA-i
SA-u
SA-l
GM
SA-i
U-m
U-i
223
It is precisely this kind of opposition that the New Approach winging brought about in
my use, so that I was aware of the difference between the direction of my swinging
arms and the core structure of my head, neck and torso, which retained its integrity
and did not become involved in the winging movement. As with the rhythmic pulse
and the stance, I found that it is impossible to do the winging correctly while
interfering with the primary control. It is clear that my winging, with the
accompanying nodding movement, unnecessarily involved the shoulder and neck
muscles, while the improved experience of the exercise did not – the head and neck
remained free, so that there was no interference with the primary control1.
Although this exercise results in an effortless, simple, self-generating movement, it is
surprisingly difficult to teach. I have found that most pupils have quite a bit of tension
in their shoulder joints, and are initially unable to find the balanced, suspended
position of the arms without guidance. Without exception, all the pupils to whom I
have taught the winging initially attempted to do the movement actively, using too
much effort and involving their shoulder muscles, in the same way I had done.
Bakhshayesh pointed out, during one of my lessons with her, that using the word
shoulder too much can create the misconception that actual effort from the shoulder is
needed to perform the winging. However, the term shoulder joint is merely used in
order to identify the actual location of the hinge. The important thing is that this joint
should be free, so that the arms can be allowed to swing, seemingly of their own
accord. She likened the shoulder joints to the hinge of a door that is free enough to
swing effortlessly in the wind.
During the New Approach workshop (Oxford, 19 July 2003), Havas frequently asked
the pupils to whom she was teaching the winging, to allow her do the movement for
them, reminding them that they did not have to do anything to help her. This gave the
pupils a direct sensory experience of the movement they could not obtain through
trying to do it actively, or by following verbal instruction. Instead of being given a
negative instruction to stop trying so hard, or being told to relax, the responsibility for
the winging was taken away from the pupils completely, which opened the way for
1 See 5.2.1.2.
SA-i
PC-i
U-m
PC-m
PC-i
KE
U-m
EG
U-m
W-n
W
I; GM
I
SA-i
I
224
them to gain an experience of the movement untainted by their own misconceptions
and interpretations.1
Another device used by both teachers to convey kinaesthetic information to me about
this exercise, required me to place my hands lightly on the top of their shoulders while
they were winging. The feedback obtained in this way, gave me a sensory awareness
of the springy and free quality of the movement. I have found this procedure to be
very beneficial with my own students: once they have obtained kinaesthetic
information about the lightness, springiness and ease of my movements directly
through their hands, their own use immediately improves as well. Similarly, I have
found that asking a pupil to manipulate my shoulder joints while my arms are in the
balanced and suspended winging position, teaches them more about the quality of the
movement than any amount of verbal instruction can.2
Havas uses another ingenious way to convey the necessary sensory information about
the winging: by blowing lightly on the inside of her upper arm, it responds with the
greatest of ease in a sideways swing. (Havas demonstrated this device at the New
Approach workshop, as well as in my lessons with her.) When this is repeated with
the student, the response is invariably the same, with a freedom and release in the
shoulder hinge that was not there before. The blowing communicates the lightness
and ease inherent in the movement, which must be allowed to happen rather than
actively performed with muscular effort3. I have found this device to work
particularly well with my own students – their winging movements instantaneously
become freer and lighter, in response to the lightness suggested by blowing.
The balanced and lightly suspended position of the arms that is established through
the winging, forms the basis for the bowing movements, and also provides the support
needed for the instrument. With the left arm forming a suspended cradle for the violin,
while the right arm’s winging position is retained, the playing posture is easily
simulated, and the instrument and bow is inserted into this balanced stance without
stiffening the muscles or joints. The experience of improved use gained in the
1 Cf 3.3.4 and 3.3.5. 2 See 4.4.5 and 5.2.1.3. 3 Cf Havas, 1973: 99. See 5.2.1.3.
SA-i
GM-t
SA-i
GM-t
U-i
GM-t
SA-i
GM-t
U-i
GM-t
KE; CF
U-i
GM
U-i
225
winging, serves as a sensory standard in relation to which unnecessary stiffening in
the actual playing movements can be perceived and inhibited1.
6.2.3 Integrating the body and the instrument
After I had played for Havas during my first lesson with her (Oxford, 16 July, 2003),
she commented that I seemed to have tension in my left shoulder, and consequently
also in my left thumb, as a result of the way in which I was holding the viola. Prior to
this lesson with Havas, I had become aware through the Alexander lessons that there
was tension in my shoulder while I played, but this information as such did not enable
me to eliminate this tension, or to change my habitual way of holding the viola at that
time.
I had also not realised to what an extent it was the way I held the instrument that had
caused the problem. I had been taught to hold the instrument briefly with the weight
of my head while swinging my left arm at my side, in order to check the freedom in
the joints of the arm. Earlier, the Alexander teacher, Vivien Mackie (London, 15 July,
2003) had immediately noted that taking my left hand away from the instrument
caused a small adjustment to my posture, especially in my face and in the relative
positions of my head and neck. She admitted to having a prejudice against holding the
instrument with head-weight only, as it is difficult to release the tension once one has
a grip on the instrument with the chin. Mackie recommended that I should place the
instrument with the right hand instead, and to continue experimenting with alternative
possibilities. Presumably I might have been able to bring about a change with
continued experimentation and application of the Alexander principles, but as Mackie
also noted, this can take a long time, firstly to discover and become aware of the exact
nature of the misuse, and then to alter one’s thinking in order to change habits that
have become set in one’s use2.
The New Approach lessons, however, thoroughly explored all the misconceptions and
tensions inherent in the violin hold, even those of which I had hitherto been ignorant.
It also gave me a very clear set of directions to follow, in order to integrate the
instrument comfortably with my stance, without distorting or interfering with my 1 See 4.5.1. 2 See 3.3.7.
SA-i
U-m; I
U-m
U-m
U-m
PC-m
PC-m
T-g
D
226
body’s natural balance. I experienced an immediate improvement in terms of physical
comfort and ease in the playing movements, as well as a marked improvement in the
tone I produced.
6.2.3.1 Flying fiddles
Havas firstly illustrated that holding the viola with the left hand, with the thumb on
top of the chinrest, makes the instrument feel very heavy, as it is unbalanced. By
resting the back of the viola on the palm of the hand, with the fingers lightly on the
ribs, the instrument is balanced and consequently feels light and relatively
“weightless”. Havas referred to this as the true weight of the instrument, which is
balanced between the collarbone and the suspended left hand, and accentuated that
there is therefore no need to tense the body in anticipation of having to hold the
instrument securely (cf Havas, 1973: 18).
This is an important point, as musicians sometimes tend to lock or set the body in
holding the instrument, as well as in anticipation of playing. In discussing the
application of the Alexander principles to string playing, Stein (1999: 73) emphasises
the importance of inhibition before playing, in order to increase a pupil’s awareness
so that he or she can “keep a free neck and free knees” when bringing the instrument
and bow into the playing positions. This is also the purpose of all the New Approach
preparatory exercises (i.e. the rhythmic pulsing, the winging, the flying fiddle and the
no-violin hold). Bakhshayesh emphasised that doing these exercises before playing on
the instrument, helps to eliminate tension in the body, so that it is not carried over to
the instrument and into the playing movements.
In the first flying fiddle exercise, the instrument is balanced lightly on the left hand, as
described above, while the arms swing in a wide arc from side to side, crossing in
front, before swinging out to shoulder-height at the sides with the arms fully
extended. This is performed in conjunction with the rhythmic pulse in the stance as
described in 6.2.1. The instrument is held in a horizontal plane all the time, as though
one were lightly balancing a tray on one’s hand. When Havas demonstrated this
exercise to me, the strings vibrated with the movement of the air across them,
producing a humming sound. Havas pointed out that this is the instrument’s “voice”,
and that the way in which one treats the instrument when playing will either set this
U-i
KE
U-m
U-m
I; SA-i
U-i
I; U-m
U
227
voice free or cause it to complain. She stressed that this exercise is very important, as
it creates a sense of freedom between oneself and the instrument, and brings to light
unconscious anxieties regarding the handling of the instrument that inevitably cause
tightening in the body.
When I attempted to do this exercise, the strings initially did not respond with a
humming sound, and on closer investigation, I became aware that I was holding the
instrument very tightly with my left hand for fear of dropping it. Havas reiterated that
any tension in the way we touch the instrument, either with the chin, or by grabbing
with the left hand, will dampen the natural vibration of the instrument. By softening
my hand and trusting the balance in the movement, the strings eventually started
vibrating of their own accord.
Gloria Bakhshayesh later noted that I looked very worried while I was doing this
exercise, and I realised that I was overly concerned about making the strings vibrate.
Bakhshayesh (Marple, 21 July, 2003) responded that “thinking about doing something
is not the same as directing oneself”, and noted that we often tend to make the end-
result the focus, which takes us away from the actual process of doing it. This changes
our point of reference, so that we stand outside of our performance and try to evaluate
what we are doing, rather than giving our full attention to the actual moment of
playing. She stressed that the important thing is to monitor how one is feeling
physically in the moment of playing, as any discomfort will inevitably manifest
somewhere in one’s performance. In applying this to the flying fiddle exercise, I
stopped thinking or worrying about getting the strings to vibrate and focused instead
on the ease of the movement, relaxing the hold of my left hand and taking the time
needed to complete the exercise – “enjoying the journey”, according to Bakhshayesh
– with the result that the strings started to vibrate, again without my assistance.
Earlier, Vivien Mackie (London, 15 July, 2003) had made very similar observations
after I had played for her in our first Alexander lesson. She noted that I needed to
move away from “thinking about” how I was playing, to being more responsive to
what I was doing in the actual moment. At the time, I did not fully understand what
Mackie meant or how to go about doing this, but the subsequent experience of the
first flying fiddle exercise, described above, exposed and made me aware of my end-
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gaining approach to playing. The carefully structured and ordered New Approach
directions, with their strong emphasis on sensory feedback and physical comfort,
opened a new way of approaching the instrument, by paying attention to each
individual step along the way and being more responsive to the immediate feedback.
The second flying fiddle exercise entails using the right hand to swing the instrument
into the playing position, and I found this to be very similar to the way in which
Vivien Mackie had suggested I should place the viola1. In the simulated playing
position2, the right arm swings the instrument into the cradle created by the suspended
left arm, and balances the violin lightly between the collar-bone and the passive left
hand. Havas repeatedly stressed that the left hand should merely receive the
instrument, and it was enlightening to discover how instinctively my left hand wanted
to take hold of the instrument, thereby immediately adding unnecessary tension to the
whole of the left arm. The head, neck and torso likewise should not adjust to
accommodate the instrument, but the violin or viola fits easily into the balanced
stance.
This exercise reinforces the idea that there is no artificial or special position necessary
in order to hold the instrument; in fact, there is no violin or viola hold at all, just the
comfortable, balanced stance with the weightless arms suspended from the back3. The
placing of the instrument is coordinated with the rhythmic pulse in the stance, as
described in 6.2.1. The violin is swung in and out of position to a rhythmic pulse of
four, and by incorporating motion and balance in this way, the concept of a static,
fixed violin hold is avoided right from the start. This is very important, as many
misconceptions regarding the violin hold originate in the postures unconsciously
adopted in the beginning, with very damaging long-term consequences once they
become habitual (cf Havas, 1973: 18).
Modern research on brain rehabilitation confirms the approach to changing habitual
behaviour that both Havas and Alexander formulated instinctively. In discussing the
ways that synapses are formed in the brain, Robertson (1999: 22) explains that when
1 See 6.2.3. 2 See 6.2.2. 3 See 4.4.4.
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two neurones are repeatedly triggered to fire at the same time, they will eventually
become synaptically connected with each other, so that a trigger for the one will also
cause the other to fire. This is known as Hebbian learning, and although all learning
takes place in this way, it can be very damaging when a harmful, unconscious
response (such as stiffening or distorting an area of the body) becomes linked to the
stimulus for a desired activity (such as placing the violin).
Alexander developed his Technique with the specific purpose to inhibit such postural
sets, and this is also the purpose of these seemingly simple exercises devised by
Havas. Robertson (1999: 62) emphasises that it is only through actively paying
attention to an activity that the related neural circuits can be trained into changing
their patterns of connections. Through consciously inhibiting the undesired response,
the synaptic connections between the neurones are weakened (Robertson, 1999: 33),
until the unwanted response is eventually pruned away. The New Approach exercises,
such as the flying fiddle and the no-violin hold, are specifically designed to make one
aware of such undesirable and unconscious responses, so that harmful habits can be
eliminated, or avoided right from the beginning.
6.2.3.2 The no-violin hold
During my lessons with her, Havas emphasised that all strain and tension in the top
vertebrae of the spine are to be avoided while holding the violin, and that the neck
will inevitably stiffen if the chin is pushed down onto the chinrest in order to hold the
instrument1. She also noted that her views in this regard have developed considerably
since she initially designed The twelve lesson course (Havas, 1964). Like Mackie, she
no longer believes that one should ever drop the left arm to one’s side, holding the
instrument only with the weight of the head, contrary to what she had written in Stage
fright (Havas, 1973). Although her writing has always emphasised the importance of
not gripping the instrument with the chin, Havas felt that the exercises as set out in
Stage fright (1973: 25, 26) could potentially have the opposite effect, and as a result
she no longer uses them in her teaching.
1 See 5.2.1.2.
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Havas stressed the importance of a natural head position while playing the violin, in
order to be able to communicate freely. She demonstrated how holding one’s neck
stiffly to one side while attempting to speak or sing, blocks the energy flow, and noted
that this is no less true when playing the violin. She emphasised once again that there
are no fixed positions, such as a violin hold or a bow hold, as all is based on balance.
Fixing anything in a specific, rigid position immediately blocks the transmission of
energy, and therefore hinders communication1.
The New Approach no-violin hold exercise is a very powerful, step-by-step guide to
achieving an improved integration of the body and the instrument. I have personally
found this exercise to be of immense value in my own playing, as well as in guiding
my pupils (beginners included) to become comfortable with the instrument.
Bakhshayesh (1985: 15) gives a very detailed account of the no-violin hold in her
beginner’s tutor book, Dancing Bows (1985), but as with the flying fiddle exercises,
the teacher’s guidance is indispensable in order to bring to light the hidden tensions
and unconscious responses to the instrument.
With the left hand resting against the body of the violin at the block (i.e. where the
neck joins the body of the instrument), the fingers spread out on top of the strings and
the thumb on the back of the violin (pointing towards the end-pin), the instrument is
lightly and quickly turned and placed on the collar-bone. Havas (1973: 25) credits
Heifetz with the idea for this exercise, which reinforces “the weightless feeling of the
violin”. Although this movement looked incredibly easy and light when demonstrated
to me, I initially found it very awkward and uncomfortable to swing the viola onto my
shoulder while keeping my fingers spread out over the strings. There was a lot of
strain in my forearm, and I thought that the size of the viola would make this
movement impossible; it felt quite heavy and cumbersome. In doing this exercise with
Gloria Bakhshayesh, she traced the discomfort to stiffness in my left shoulder-joint
and upper-arm. I had not been aware of this tightness at all, but when I released it, the
movement instantly became not only easy, but also very light and secure.
Bakhshayesh also pointed out that the only movement that is necessary is a rotation of
1 See 3.3.3.
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the forearm from the elbow in order to swing the viola up, and that the left upper arm
and elbow joint need to be completely free in order to allow this action.
With the instrument resting on the shoulder, but not yet inserted under the chin, Havas
adds another ingenious device in order to counteract the misconception that the neck
has to be stretched out or contorted in order to accommodate the instrument. The
thickness of the instrument is measured by the middle finger and thumb of the right
hand (resting on the middle of the chinrest and the bottom of the shoulder rest
respectively), while one authoritatively says “measure”. The area from below the jaw
to the collarbone, where the instrument is to be inserted, is measured next (again
while saying “measure”), and found to be exactly the same as the thickness of the
instrument1. This procedure is repeated with the length of the chinrest and the length
of the side of the jaw. The powerful message that this conveys to the sub-conscious
mind of the violinist is that there is an exact fit, like two pieces of a puzzle, between
the instrument and this measured space below the chin, and therefore no adjustment in
the body is necessary.
Once this has been established, two fingers of the right hand are placed underneath
and behind the jawbone, and the instrument is inserted into the measured space, while
one says “one and fit”. Havas kept her hand lightly on my left hand in order to
monitor my movements, and as I inserted the viola, she made me aware that I was
pushing the instrument up with my left hand, instead of just closing my left elbow in
towards my body. I had not consciously intended to push the viola up, and it took me
a while to recognise that I was doing so and stiffening my left upper arm in the
process.
Once the instrument has been inserted, the right hand is removed and the chin spread
onto the chinrest, while one says “two and spread”. The image here is of a couple of
double chins spreading out all over the chinrest, and the direction of the movement is
forward rather than down. The quality of the contact between the chin and the chinrest
is always soft, and Havas advised me to think the weight back to the crown of my
1 The success of this exercise depends on whether the chinrest and shoulder-rest have been adjusted to the right height for the pupil, and the exercise will therefore also show up if further adjustments are necessary.
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head, in order to counteract any unconscious pressing down on the chinrest. The right
hand then takes a secure hold of the inner bout of the instrument (so that the head has
no responsibility to counterbalance the weight of the instrument), and the left hand
slides down to first position, in a soft, giving gesture while one says “three and slide”.
It is imperative that there is no tension in the left hand and that the hand remains in a
completely natural position instead of being prepared or placed in a particular playing
position, as this inevitably adds unnecessary tension. The final step is to check the
freedom of the left shoulder joint, and to counteract the tendency to push the left
elbow in under the violin, by releasing the arm sideways and out1, while saying “four
and swing”.
The verbal directions and the movements were always exactly matched, so that the
movements are allowed to happen in response to the voice, rather than the voice
trailing behind the movements in a kind of delayed commentary2. The time and effort
both Havas and Bakhshayesh took to ensure that each step of the exercise was
accomplished without unnecessary or habitual tension, was extensive and detailed.
They paid attention to very subtle shifts of muscle tension in my movements, and the
level of the kinaesthetic observations made, far exceeds anything I have ever
encountered in instrumental tuition of any kind. As a consequence, my body was
informed of a new way of relating to the instrument that verbal instruction could not
have communicated to me.
The result was a completely new feeling of lightness and ease, especially in the
contact between my jaw and the instrument: it felt decidedly spongy and soft, a
feeling I had never experienced before in holding the instrument. There was no
discomfort or pressure on the chinrest, yet the instrument felt very secure. This
position initially felt very foreign to me, as the viola seemed to be quite a lot lower
than I had imagined it should be, and yet when I looked in a mirror, it was not unduly
angled downwards but remained fairly horizontal.
With time, I have found a much greater freedom in the use of my left hand, especially
with regard to shifting and double stopping. I have also noticed a distinct 1 It should be noted that this is a very slight movement; the elbow remains pointing towards the floor. 2 See 6.2.1.
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improvement in my over-all coordination and mind-body integration, especially in
sight-reading very fast passages, which had, at times, brought about an uncomfortable
level of tension and a lack of security. I experience greater ease in all of the playing
movements, a markedly reduced level of anxiety in performance, increased facility
and above all an increased beauty of tone that is expressive and deeply satisfying.
This is no doubt due to the combined effect of all the New Approach exercises, but
the integration of the body and instrument through the no-violin hold is the foundation
on which all other aspects of violin playing depend, as any interference with the head
and neck in holding the instrument will affect the functioning of the rest of the body 1.
In teaching this exercise to a number of pupils, both beginner and advanced, I have
noticed that they exhibit very similar responses to placing the violin. They all tend to
push the instrument up with the left hand, and are usually completely unaware of this
fact. There is often a tightening in the left arm and shoulder in an effort to hold the
instrument up, and most pupils tend to stretch their chins forward in order to take the
chinrest, instead of waiting for the instrument to slide in underneath the chin. I have
also found that as long as the neck is stretched out in this way, or contorted in an
effort to accommodate the instrument, or if the violin is being pushed up, the pupil
remains uncomfortable and unable to achieve the ease of the no-violin hold.
The degree of contortion is usually more severe if a pupil had had a particularly bad
violin hold before. Even the idea of bringing the instrument into the playing position
elicits a distortion in such a pupil’s body. Such an instinctive reaction has to be
pointed out and stopped repeatedly before the body begins to learn that it does not
have to change or adapt to the violin. All of the pupils to whom I have taught this
exercise, and especially those who previously had a large degree of misuse in this
area, have commented on the surprising fact that the violin can be easy and
comfortable to hold2.
The no-violin hold is an exploration of awareness that the student undertakes with the
teacher’s guidance, and it can sometimes take a number of lessons before a pupil has 1 Cf Havas, 1961: 16. See 5.2.1.2. 2 It should be noted that a well-adjusted shoulder rest was always used in teaching the no-violin hold. However, the discomfort in holding the instrument was traced more often to a distortion in the pupil’s body than to an ill-fitting shoulder rest.
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gained enough insight into his or her own use in order to inhibit unwanted responses
that interfere with the head-neck relationship. However, until this ease in holding the
violin is established, there seems to be a constant negative influence in all of the
playing movements, so that the quality of movement remains mechanical and
laboured. I have found that once a pupil discovers how much easier it is to play the
violin when there is no violin hold, they are inspired to continue this process of paying
attention to their use. When they realise that there is a direct correlation between what
they do (and how much tension they use in doing it) and the way the instrument
responds, they become very motivated and take pleasure in discovering new and freer
ways of touching the instrument.
6.2.4 Bowing
The detailed working procedure followed by Havas and Bakhshayesh in integrating
the body and instrument, were also applied in establishing the bowing. The particular
New Approach bowing exercises that were covered in the lessons with Havas and in
the ‘Six Lesson Course’ with Bakhshayesh will not be described in detail in this
section, but after a brief overview, a selection of experiences relevant to the purposes
of this study will be discussed.
As with the no-violin hold, Havas stressed that there is no bow hold. The body
receives the instrument and bow, instead of actively trying to take hold of them. In the
flying bow exercise, the left hand swings the bow into the right hand, which remains
completely passive. The right hand is merely a receptacle for the bow and does not
prepare to take the bow, as this adds unnecessary tension to the hand and reinforces
the tendency that most people have to grip the bow with the fingers1.
All of the bowing movements are based on the suspended position of the arms that
was established in the winging2, and are always mimed before being played on the
instrument. The freedom of the miming is retained when playing on the instrument,
and it certainly feels as if there is no bow to be manipulated with the hand. The
1 The right thumb is flexed and the thumb muscle remains very soft and relaxed throughout. The skin below the nail lightly touches the hair of the bow, thereby adding greater security. Furthermore, the forearm and hand are pronated, i.e. turned towards the violin, when the bow is placed on the instrument (cf Havas, 1961: 24). 2 See 6.2.2.
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movements of the bow and hand merely follow through from the swinging of the
shoulder- and elbow-joints. The hand never initiates or consciously controls the
movement during the basic exercises to establish the balance in the bow arm.
Both Havas and Bakhshayesh guided my bowing movements, in the miming as well
as in actually playing on the string, in order to give me a sensation of the desired
movements. The directions for the bowing were always verbalised in a sequential
order, and the voice remained the major control1, with the movement merely
unfolding in response. Havas emphasised that the quality of all the bowing
movements is springy, swinging and light, and frequently checked whether my arms
were “weightless” and balanced, or resting too heavily on the strings.
Although I had studied all Havas’s books prior to the series of New Approach lessons,
I found the exercise for establishing the upper-half bowing particularly difficult. I
understood intellectually that the swinging movement from the elbow was a
continuation of the movement originating in the back, but Havas made me aware that
I still attempted to lead the movement from my hand. I had thought that I was doing
what she asked, but as she guided my arm and did the movement for me, it had a
distinctly different feel: it was easy and light, as though the movement happened by
itself, and as if there really was no bow to move to the tip. The movement had a
rhythm and swing, and the sound was much more alive than before.
It had occasionally been pointed out to me in lessons and master classes (prior to the
New Approach lessons) that the movement in my right elbow was not elastic enough
and needed to extend more forward as the bow moved to the tip. However, this
instruction did not help me to change this aspect of my playing, even though I had
assented to the instruction and had tried to implement it. The particular teachers were
not able to explain more fully to me what was needed, or to lead me into an
experience of improved use in this regard. I was aware of a vague discomfort in my
bowing arm at times, and consciously attempting to control the movement of the bow
arm did not help to improve the situation. However, during the lessons with Kató
Havas and later with Gloria Bakhshayesh, this aspect of my bowing was thoroughly
1 See 6.2.1.
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explored, discussed, demonstrated and facilitated, so that I gradually obtained a
clearer mental picture of the desired movement.
I initially felt as though I were blind on a sensory level, and unable to grasp the
kinaesthetic meaning of the words and explanations given to me. In miming the
swinging upper half movements, I knew that my hand needed to remain passive, but
every time I attempted the exercise, I still found myself reaching forward with the
hand instead of allowing the movement to swing from the elbow joint. In guiding my
movements with the bow, Bakhshayesh felt tension in my right hand thumb area,
indicating that I was still leading the bow from my hand (although I was not aware of
doing so), and explained that any tension in the bow hand and thumb will inevitably
cause tension in the shoulder- and elbow joints as well.
As Bakhshayesh facilitated the bowing movement, her hand covered mine in such a
way that my index finger was not able to guide the stroke, as it had always done. I
found this to be quite frustrating and uncomfortable, and felt that I would be
completely unable to bow without the index finger’s help. By inhibiting my
unconscious habits directly through her guidance, Bakhshayesh made me aware of the
extent to which I had tried to control the bow from my hand before, instead of
swinging the arm from the inside out. Although I had initially tried to hold on to my
habitual way of bowing, it was the very thing that was interfering with my use, and by
stopping this habitual movement pattern from taking place, Bakhshayesh enabled me
have a completely new experience of the upper half bowing.
This experience taught me more than verbal instruction had hitherto been able to, by
giving me a direct sensory knowledge of the desired movement, which in turn enabled
me to perceive the misuse that I had not been conscious of before. Merely trying to
copy what the New Approach teachers were doing, and giving mental assent to what
they were saying was not enough. I only understood the movement as I felt it, and
realised what it meant that I was not allowing my arm to extend to its full length, or
allowing the elbow to swing open.
My mental picture of the movement was also clarified through discussing the
misconception I had had regarding the upper half bowing. Bakhshayesh spent a
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considerable amount of time clarifying the concept of the inter-related fluid joints of
the arm, and explained that my forearm had moved only from the elbow joint without
involving the shoulder joint as well. This is a result of leading the stroke from the
hand and it restricts the sound, as the energy flow from inside is unable to flow
through the shoulder to the whole arm. As tension inevitably builds up in the whole
arm (and especially the shoulder joint) when there is no energy flowing through it, the
bowing, and therefore the sound, becomes static. Leading the bow stroke from the
hand results in a mechanistic, external movement that is cut off from the inner
musical impulse. Bakhshayesh commented that even though one can get proficient at
playing in this way, it can cause repetitive strain injuries, and does not allow one the
pleasure of feeling the music flowing through one’s movements.
However, when the movement is projected from inside through the shoulder to the
elbow joint, the movement of the arm and bow become self-propelled, and the sound
of the instrument is more resonant1. As the arm unfolds from inside out, the quality of
the movement is very springy, and the shoulder joint remains free all the time. As
Bakhshayesh demonstrated the difference between the two movements, I could hear a
very clear difference in the sound that she produced: when the forearm moved only
from the elbow, the sound was indeed static, but with the inside-out swinging the
sound was much more alive. When I touched her arm as she did the bowing, I could
feel that there was undeniably a springy aliveness in the movement that was not there
when she had moved from the elbow only.
The reflexive movement of the arm in bowing, as experienced in the lessons with
Havas and Bakhshayesh, has become progressively clearer to me as I have continued
to apply the New Approach exercises, as well as in teaching them to my own pupils. I
have found that beginners who have never played the instrument before generally
learn the reflexive swinging movement much more quickly than those in whom the
habit of leading the bow-stroke from the hand is already well established. However,
all pupils seem to have a tendency to want to manipulate the bow with the hand, even
1 It should be noted that it is essential for the thumb to remain linked lightly with the hair of the bow throughout this exercise. Without this link, there will be some tension in the fingers that will transit up the arm and inhibit the movement, breaking the link from the inside through the shoulder and elbow to the string.
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those beginners who are able to mime the bowing movements without interference
from the hand.
Bakhshayesh noted during one of the lessons that the hand will tend to take over the
responsibility for moving the bow, if the mental direction to the shoulder and elbow-
joints is not strong enough. The most important thing therefore remains to train the
mind to give the orders to the right places, as the “body will have no alternative but to
obey” such mental direction (Havas, 1968: 17).
6.2.5 Touch
As is evident from the preceding discussion of specific New Approach exercises,
teaching through touch is an important component of the New Approach, and this
section will look at the different ways in which it is applied in the lessons.
Havas uses the blowing device described in the section on winging1 very often in her
teaching, for instance to make pupils aware of hidden tensions in their hands. On
several occasions during my lessons with her, Havas asked me to blow on my hands,
and they responded almost of their own accord by flopping, or giving, with the release
of tension. In each instance, I had been unaware that I was holding tension in my
hands and wrists, and the subtlety of this device revealed a new level of meaning to
the idea of releasing tension that being told “relax your hands”, could not have done.
Havas explained that the concept of blowing denotes very little effort, and as a result
it creates a more desirable response in the body than verbal instruction (which a pupil
is likely to interpret as something to do actively) is able to.
This demonstrates profound congruence with the Alexandrian principle, articulated by
Jones (1976: 81), that the “amount of kinesthetic information conveyed is in indirect
proportion to the force used in conveying it”: a hard touch will elicit a hard response,
while a soft touch elicits a soft response2. In addition to the lightness suggested by
blowing, Havas nurtures a way of soft touching that brings about a corresponding
softness and release of unnecessary tension in the pupil’s body3. This is relevant both
1 See 6.2.2. 2 See discussion in 5.2.2.1. 3 See 4.4.5.
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to the way in which the instrument is touched, and the way in which the teacher
touches the student in guiding his or her movements.
In my first lesson with her, Havas demonstrated how different kinds of touching
communicate different messages. Stroking a person’s hand with a soft touch, allowing
air between the hands, conveys a completely different thought than a hard, gripping
touch does – the latter is threatening, and makes you want to pull your hand away. In
order to elicit the desired response or to convey the required sensory information, it is
therefore very important to use the right kind of touch. I found this touch, as
demonstrated by Havas, to be very similar in quality to the soft, reassuring touch I
experience in the Alexander lessons with Yvonne Becker.
Havas often rested her hand on mine throughout the duration of an exercise in order to
gauge the amount of tension in my movements, and consequently made me aware of
very subtle tensions that I had not noticed. Obtaining kinaesthetic feedback from my
movements in this way also enabled her to discern whether the movement that I was
making originated from the right source. For instance, she made me aware that my
right hand often tends to initiate a movement (such as pulling the bow in order to start
the bow stroke) when in fact the movement of the hand is merely a follow-through of
the arm’s swinging, which unfolds from the inside out1. I was completely unaware of
this tendency to tighten my bow hand, but once she had pointed it out and I
consciously directed the mental command to the correct place (i.e. the shoulder- or
elbow joints), the movement felt completely different and the sound quality
dramatically improved.
Havas also used this soft touch to re-assure my right hand, to enable it to release
tension. She pointed out that our hands are always busy manipulating objects and
doing things, and that we carry this tendency over to the instrument. This tendency
was, in fact, one of the major interferences that the New Approach lessons helped me
to identify in my own use. By resting her hand on mine for a couple of seconds,
Havas communicated the soft, released and yet alive quality of her touch directly to
my hand, so that I gained an awareness of the unnecessary tension in my right hand,
1 See 6.2.5.
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and was able to release it. My hand seemed to absorb the kinaesthetic quality of her
touch. Even though the tension uncovered was very subtle, eliminating it had a very
noticeable effect on my sound, and brought about a new sense of freedom and
softness in my movements in relation to the instrument.
During one of my lessons with her, Havas mentioned that a limb can look as if it is in
the right position and doing the right movement, but all the while it can be full of
tension inside. To demonstrate this, she asked me to touch her wrist and elbow as she
touched the bow to the string. She tensed her arm as she did so, and the hardness of
the tension was very easy to feel. As she repeated the action, letting go and releasing
the tension, I immediately felt the new softness in her arm, yet the position and
movement of the arm looked very much the same as before. There was only a slightly
more collapsed or giving look to it, which could be easily overlooked by an untrained
eye. Obtaining sensory information through my hands in this way explained more to
me about the quality of the movement she required me to make than the verbal
instruction that had preceded it, or the visual information I had gained through
watching her demonstrate it. My sensory awareness was increased, so that I was able
to recognise the tension and unnecessary effort in my own arm, however subtle it had
been.
This experience reveals an essential difference with the other methods of instrumental
tuition that I have experienced and observed. None of the violin methods that I have
studied, except the New Approach, examines ways in which one can detect hidden
tensions in the pupil’s actions. If the movements that the pupil makes, looks right, it is
generally accepted to be right and left at that, but the subtle dystonic patterns that may
not be discernable to the eye are consequently not dealt with, and continue to affect
the pupil’s functioning negatively.
Stevens (1996: 115) points out that “touch aids perception”: as the nerve cells that are
specialised for sensing touch are stimulated, proprioception is increased, so that it is
possible to feel more accurately what the body is doing1. With this increased
alertness, there is more background information available to help in carrying out
1 See 3.3.4.
I; GM-t
I
U-i; KE
U-m
GM-t
GM-t
GM-t
SA-i
U-m
GM-t
SA-i
241
conscious movements. Havas intuitively recognised this principle, as is evidenced by
the large role that touch plays in the New Approach. The link between the mental
directive and the particular physical action can be established more precisely when the
pupil’s kinaesthetic awareness is heightened in this way.
For instance, when Havas teaches the fundamental balance for the left hand finger
action, she advises one first to rub the particular base knuckle lightly, in order to
locate the precise position to which the directions will be given. I have found this to
be a very useful device, especially in remedial teaching, as many pupils have a
tendency to tighten the whole hand and the adjacent fingers in order to put one finger
on the string. Identifying the exact place from which the finger will swing and
directing the mental command to that place only, allows the hand to remain free and
the fingers independent, and results in greater clarity of articulation, as well as
increased expressiveness. The same is true for the other New Approach exercises:
through stimulating the nerve receptors through touch, the teacher enables the pupil to
direct his or her use more accurately.
In an Alexander lesson with Vivien Mackie (London, July 2003), she reiterated that
“touch teaches touch”, and this seems to me to be as relevant to much of Havas’s
teaching as it is to the Alexander Technique. This principle is illustrated clearly in the
way that the left hand touch is imparted to the student. Both Havas and Bakhshayesh
had used the image of squeezing a soft, juicy tomato, with the juice running out
between the fingers, to illustrate the powerful yet soft and elastic feeling tone in all
the joints of the left hand. In teaching me this giving left hand touch on the
instrument, Gloria Bakhshayesh enveloped my hand around the neck of the viola with
both of her own for several seconds, if not minutes, directly imparting the quality of
her touch to my hand.
This also stopped me from being able to revert to my habitual left hand position,
which had felt right and necessary1 to me, or to prepare my hand in readiness to play.
As a result, my hand initially felt paralysed, as though I would never be able to play
with my hand cuddling around the neck of the instrument in the way that she was
1 Cf 3.3.4.
GM-t
D
SA-i
GM-t
D
U-m
SA-i
D
U-I
GM-t
D
GM-t
GM-t
I; U-m
SA-u
SA-u
242
suggesting through her touch. However, after a couple of repetitions, I found that I
was able to move my fingers with ease in a lateral swing, and the softness and liberty
that I gained in my hand, as well as the resulting warmth in the tone quality, was a
revelation to me.
Although I had assented intellectually to Havas’s view of the dangers inherent in a
vertical finger action1, it was through being guided into an actual experience of the
New Approach touching that I recognised to what an extent my own use was still
being informed by the misconception of a vertical finger action. I had been aware for
some time prior to the New Approach lessons that I sometimes pressed too hard with
my left hand fingers on the string, especially when I was under stress, but this
knowledge had not helped me to resolve this tendency or to prevent it from recurring.
The New Approach lessons, on the other hand, gave me a direct experience of the
improved use. Although it had seemed strange to me when I first experienced it, I
found that the kinaesthetic sensation imparted to me by Bakhshayesh stayed with me
for a long time2, so that my hand seemed to search out this touch almost of its own
accord whenever I played.
Having consistently nurtured this touch through the New Approach exercises over the
last 18 months, I have gained greater ease and accuracy in all aspects of left hand
technique, but especially in double stopping and shifting, due to the increased
elasticity of my hand3. My vibrato has also acquired a significant measure of freedom
and expressiveness.
In the lessons, both Havas and Bakhshayesh commented on the fact that I was
receptive and responsive to their guidance4. Gloria Bakhshayesh noted that it was
only possible for me to experience the sensation of the movements because my arms
were responsive to her touch and I did not resist her guidance (even though the guided
movements had sometimes felt strange to me). This is important, as it is the sensations
1 See 4.4.5. 2 Cf 3.3.8. 3 Cf Mackie, 2000: 88. See 6.2.1. 4 This is most probably due to an increase of sensory awareness from the ten Alexander lessons that I had had prior to the New Approach lessons, but it is also likely that the style of teaching that I had adopted over the past decade, in guiding my own pupils’ movements to help them find freedom in the playing movements, could have been an influence.
KE
GM
SA-i
U-m
U-m
SA-u
SA-i
U-i
KE
U-i
KE; U-i
U-i
A
SA
I; GM
SA-u
243
that are imparted through the lessons that one ultimately remembers. She added that a
large part of the New Approach has to do with the touch and the kinaesthetic
response, and that this is what is lacking when one only reads about the New
Approach. Academic knowledge can only give one a partial understanding of the
method.
The New Approach lessons increase one’s awareness of what happens in the body and
facilitates soft and powerful sensations in relation to the instrument. However, it is
essential to rediscover these sensations again every day through the carefully
structured New Approach exercises. Bakhshayesh noted that even though one may
gain an understanding of the movements, the body still needs to be taught and
reminded of the sensations on a daily basis. As intellectual knowledge and sensory
knowledge do not always correspond, the connection between the mind and body
needs to be nurtured consistently.
6.2.6 Directing
Both Havas and Bakhshayesh paid very detailed attention to every movement I made
while the fundamental balances were being established, and stopped me whenever
they detected unnecessary tension in my movements, making me aware of the exact
nature of the misuse. In guiding my movements, they gave me a direct sensory
experience of the desired movement, all the while linking the experience to a set of
directions with very clearly defined steps, through which I would be able to recreate
the desired movement for myself.
All these directions follow a specific and sequential order, and are always verbalised
to the exact key cue in the body (such as the left hand base knuckles or the shoulder-
and elbow-joints) that motivates the particular movement. Havas frequently told me
that “the voice and the movement are the same”, and to let my body do what my voice
was saying. I found that this took the responsibility away from the particular limb, so
that the movement could be allowed to happen effortlessly in response to the voice,
rather than being performed actively with muscular effort.
A unique aspect of all the New Approach directions is that they are spoken in such a
way that the inflection in the voice mimics the timing and the feel of the movement.
SA-i
SA
SA-i
A-e
SA
MW
SA
D-w
T
I
U-m
GM
SA-i
D; MW
D
D-w
D-w
CF
D-w
244
This is true for both the bowing movements and the left hand. For instance, in
learning to direct the left hand finger action, the voice says the particular note name,
such as “D”, with a kind of sliding sound that coincides exactly with the lateral
swinging action of the finger. The note name is spoken to and projected through the
relevant base knuckle, initially without the instrument (in various variations of the
same exercise, including singing the note name on the actual pitch), and subsequently
with the instrument when learning to place the fingers on the string. This exercise is
also used later in learning new music: the notes are literally spoken or sung through
the base knuckles in this way before the music is played on the instrument. Although
this exercise may sound very simplistic, I have found it to be extremely powerful,
both in my own playing as well as in my teaching. It has the ability to focus the mind
on the exact movement required, thereby eliminating unnecessary tension and
superfluous movement. Lack of clarity in articulation in any given passage is
immediately improved as soon as the notes are spoken to the base knuckles in this
way.
This is true for all the New Approach directions. In speaking the directions out loud to
the key cue for that movement, the mind is focused only on that which is necessary,
so that the physical response can be more accurate. As the movement coincides
exactly with the inflection of the voice as described above1, and merely unfolds in
response to the verbal direction, the mind and the body are coordinated in a very
powerful way. Cultivating mind-body unity right from the beginning in this way is
essential preparation to allow the musical thought eventually to be expressed directly
through the physical movements2.
The purpose of the detailed New Approach directions is to establish a very clear
mental picture of the movement, which is projected to the body before it is carried out
physically. For instance, in miming the bowing, I was taught by the New Approach
teachers first to look at the particular joint and to imagine the movement very clearly,
while verbalising the directions, with the feeling and timing of the movement
reflected in the inflection of my voice. After this, the arm is allowed to swing in
response to the stimulus of the voice (as well as the stimulus of the left hand index 1 See also 6.2.1 and 6.2.3.2. 2 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 54. See 5.2.2.3.
D-w
D-q
D
D-w
I
U-m
U-i; D
D-w
U-i
D-w
D-w
D
D-q
D-w
245
finger1), always in coordination with the rhythmic pulse. This always resulted in a
more accurate rendition of the movement, and I have found this to be the case with
my own pupils as well. Instead of attempting to do a movement with excessive
tension and physical effort, their movements become freer, easier and more precise.
The body knows what to do once the mental picture of the movement has been made
clear through mental rehearsal2, so that interferences are reduced considerably.
Robertson (1999: 59) confirms that mental rehearsal can sculpt the synaptic
connections in the brain as much as real practise can. By using a PET scanner,
researchers have been able to monitor what happens in the brain during such mental
practise:
Robertson, 1999: 56:
Mentally imagining a movement triggers much the same brain machinery as does preparing to make the same movement. It seems, therefore, that imagining a movement is not very different from actually making the same movement, as far as the brain is concerned.
However, it is important to imagine the actual feeling of the movement (as Havas
advises3) in order for the movement areas of the brain to be involved (Robertson,
1999: 57). Robertson (1999: 56) also notes that talent resides in the network of
connected neurones that are carefully established over a period of time, and that this
“synaptic embroidery” needs constant maintenance in order to keep the patterns of
connections firing together. This can be done either in the real world or in the “virtual
world of the mind” (Robertson, 1999: 56), through vivid imagining. It is clear that this
is exactly the procedure followed in the New Approach directing4, and a reason for its
effectiveness.
Obtaining and projecting a clear mental picture of the movement is always the focus
in the New Approach. Bakhshayesh (Marple, July 2003) pointed out that the object of
practising in the New Approach is always to have full awareness and full focus in the
actual moment of performing the exercise, and not merely to repeat something over 1 Cf Havas, 1973: 35, 36. See 5.2.2.1. 2 See 4.4.3. 3 Cf Havas, 1964: 64. 4 See 4.4.3 and 5.2.2.3.
U-i
U-m
KE
D-w
D
D-q
A
D-q
D
D-q
EG
A
EG
246
and over. De Alcantara (1997: 195) confirms this from the perspective of applying the
Alexander Technique to instrumental tuition:
If you wish to create a clear kinaesthetic memory of a given gesture, you are better off playing that gesture five times perfectly in a row than nine times perfectly and a tenth time imperfectly, thereby blemishing your memory of the whole set. (De Alcantara, 1997: 195.)
By creating such a kinaesthetic memory of a gesture, a command from the brain will
be able to retrieve it with ease and reliability in performance1. However, endlessly
repeating the same movement in an effort to gain security leads to a “machine-like
accuracy (that) goes against the very nature of music-making” (De Alcantara, 1997:
192) – the mechanistic control that the methods of both Havas and Alexander aim to
eliminate2. The important thing is not only to avoid repeating the wrong things, but
also to know when to stop before mental fatigue sets in, so that every repetition can be
made with full awareness, as “attention is an important ingredient for brain sculpture”
(Robertson, 1999: 62).
The end-gaining desire for control is not only manifest in excessive repetition, but
also in being over-careful3. During my lessons with Havas (Oxford, July 2003), I
found that I sometimes hesitated before executing a movement in order to make very
sure that I would do it correctly. Havas emphasised the importance of doing all the
exercises very rhythmically: one thinks beforehand, but then there is no hesitation
once the movement is performed in response to the pulse4. Bakhshayesh also noted
that many thoughts about a movement are not helpful, as they tend to interfere with
the actual performance. Looking for feedback in order to judge the outcome has the
same effect. Projecting a very precise thought before playing and then trusting the
movement without trying to impose control, allows the movement to unfold freely
and reflexively. This is in complete accord with De Alcantara’s view that one should
not anticipate the outcome of one’s actions or judge them afterwards if one is “really
paying attention to the means and not the ends” (1997: 74).
1 See the discussion on mental rehearsal and Kreisler’s ‘master record’ of the playing movements in 4.4.3. 2 See 5.2.3.4. 3 Cf De Alcantara, 1997: 72. See 3.3.11. 4 See 5.2.3.4.
D
D
U-i
EG
U-m
U-m
I; U-m
A
EG
EG
CF-p
EG
CF-p
R
CF-p
MW
247
Havas emphasised that the New Approach exercises are preventative, not curative.
They do not attempt to improve an old way of moving and playing, but teach the body
a whole new way of being with the instrument that prevents tensions from
accumulating in the playing movements. In other words, new exercises are not
imposed on the old way of playing, but the old is completely bypassed and
eliminated1. Although many New Approach directions are inhibitory, Havas (personal
communication, Oxford, July 2003) discourages negative imperatives, preferring to
say “beware of” rather than “don’t”, as she feels that the latter too easily makes a
pupil feel defensive, which results in the body stiffening in self-protection - a view
also often expressed by Yvonne Becker in my Alexander lessons with her.
I have found in teaching the New Approach exercises to my own pupils that it is very
often a case of teaching them to inhibit. For instance, they have to inhibit an eagerness
to do, which sometimes results in grabbing the instrument with excessive tension.
They also need to inhibit the tendency to try hard in order to get something right, and
rather stop and think through the directions for each step of the process. When I guide
their movements, they have to inhibit their own desire to move and allow me to do it
for them, in order to give them the feeling of the movement. Before playing on the
instrument, they have to wait a moment and consider whether there is tension in their
bodies, and especially their hands, that could negatively affect what they are about to
do. Instead of just taking the violin and playing a piece, they first have to organise
themselves by learning the musical information away from the instrument, and then
gradually build this information into their physical movements through clapping,
singing and miming.
However, the reward for all this inhibition and careful direction is the satisfaction of
doing something well, and being able to express themselves musically on the
instrument with greater ease. Even though some of my pupils find it hard to focus
their attention to the degree required of them, I have noticed increased enjoyment and
self-motivation in virtually all of them.
1 Cf Havas, 1961: 63; see 5.2.2.2.
I; U-m
I
D-I
W
W-n
U-m
I; EG
U-m
I; EG
D; MW
I; GM
SA-i
I
I; EG
D
MW
I; D
KE
U-I; A
KE
248
6.2.7 The inner ear
At the New Approach workshop (Oxford, 19 July 2003), Havas always responded in a
positive, affirming way to a participant’s playing. Even when there were glaring and
obvious musical inaccuracies, she never made a pupil self-aware about their mistakes,
but led them to discover the problems for themselves through rhythmically clapping
and singing the music away from the instrument. Once the music was internalised and
experienced in this way, the playing always improved, and the musical inaccuracies
disappeared automatically.
Havas noted that the problem often is that we want to play the instrument instead of
singing inside, and that we are unable to sing when we are too involved with the
external machinery of playing the violin. As a result, our playing is silent even though
it may often be proficient and good; it does not communicate because it has no inner
music. She reiterated that rhythm comes through pulsing and clapping, and not by
trying to play the violin. Havas also mentioned that because musicians in the West are
often not trained to hear the intervals inwardly when reading the music, the “eyes are
threatened by the notes”, causing rigidity in the body. However, as the music happens
in the tensions between the notes, it is very important to train the inner ear by singing
the music away from the instrument, as is the practice in Kodály ear-training1. This is
followed with singing while miming, and then finally with singing out loud to the left
hand base knuckles while playing.
At the New Approach workshop (Oxford, 19 July 2003), Havas asked me to sing out
loud to my left hand fingers while playing a movement from a Brahms viola sonata.
Even though I found it impossible to sing the actual note name, as is the practice in
the New Approach, Havas encouraged me to sing anything, as long as it was out loud
and communicated the essence of the music to the base knuckles. I found even this to
be very difficult, but as I persevered, I was astounded at the transformation in my own
playing. I had often been plagued by interferences2 in performance, such as insecurity
regarding difficult shifts or passages, but with all my concentration absorbed in
having to sing out loud while playing, not only did these technical insecurities
disappear, but my physical actions were expressing the music in the way I had always 1 See 4.4.6. 2 Cf Green and Gallwey, 1986: 33.
T
T
D
U-i
EG
EG
MW
EG
U-m
D
D
D
U-i
U-m
A
I
D-w
249
wanted to, without any seeming effort on my part. Even though I had paid no
attention to my physical movements, my left hand and bow were more coordinated,
and the sound was more alive. It was a profoundly moving experience, in which I felt
more fully connected to my own inner musicality as well as more integrated in mind
and body.
In the Inner game of music, Green and Gallwey (1986: 23) suggest that one’s
performance is limited by the degree to which interferences are allowed to detract
from one’s innate ability. While listening to one’s inner critic’s “instructions,
warnings, criticisms and general play-by-play commentary”, even when those
comments happen to be valid, it is not possible to pay full attention to the music or to
be fully absorbed in the moment1 (Green & Gallwey, 1986: 29). Using this model as a
point of reference, it is clear that singing out loud had completely absorbed my
attention2, so that it was not possible to listen to this inner critical voice, and as a
result my playing more accurately reflected my innate ability.
Kenneson (1974: 90) notes that musicians frequently encounter difficulties during
performance if their “explicit focal attention” becomes fixed on the physical
manipulation of the instrument, instead of on the musical concepts to be transformed
into sound. The New Approach practice of singing is designed to keep the mind
focused on the music, instead of the physical movements3. Although the singing is
eventually internalised and taken over by the inner ear, it initially needs to be done out
loud in order to reinforce “what might otherwise be vague or unformed”, as one’s
concentration can too easily be distracted by the physical actions if the singing device
has not yet been habituated (Kenneson, 1974: 51). Kenneson gives a succinct and
very articulate account of the way in which the New Approach singing is applied in
performance, and it is worth quoting at length:
Kenneson, 1974: 50:
Singing the note’s name (with the inner musical voice) cues the beginning of the gesture, and pulsing the note rhythmically keeps the gesture operative throughout the duration of the tone. The displacement of the bow is
1 This relates very closely to the comments made to me by Bakhshayesh and Mackie - see 6.2.3.1. 2 Cf Havas, 1973: 84 and Kenneson, 1974: 51. 3 Cf Havas, 1961: 2, 68.
CF
U-i
D-w
U-m
A
I
U-i
U-m
EG
D
D-q
D
250
coordinated with the pulsing left-hand gesture; the entire body is alive with motion as the player ‘feels’ the gesture transforming his idea into sound. This sensory perception feeds back information which does not intrude into the consciousness, but does keep the mechanism of the living body modulated and operative…Singing the note names is not a vague or passive action. It not only serves as a cue for the triggering of the gesture, but pulsing of the note fills out the time which must elapse to ascertain the musical duration of the tone….When one has allowed the inner ear to occupy itself in this way, one has excluded everything from the consciousness except the musical thought which is totally pertinent to the task at hand.
De Alcantara (1997: 184) also proposes a strategy for working on rhythm that
involves speaking out loud and playing at the same time, once again indicating the
close correlation between the New Approach and applications of the Alexander
Technique to music performance. Some of the exercises themselves are also fairly
similar (although not identical) to the New Approach, in that the rhythm is spoken by
the voice while the body gestures the basic pulse (cf De Alcantara, 1997: 185). Other
variations suggested by De Alcantara (1997: 187) include vocally pulsing the
subdivisions of the beats in order to give metronomic precision to long notes, in a way
that is nearly identical to the New Approach practice of singing and pulsing, as
described by Kenneson (1974: 51). De Alcantara (1997: 190) also concludes that the
“mind’s ears” are eventually able to take over the role of the voice, as it does in the
New Approach.
In the Alexander lessons I had with Vivien Mackie (London, July 2003), she likewise
paid much attention to the role of the inner ear. She noted that the inner ear should be
able to teach the finger how to produce what one wants, and that it is also the inner
ear that connects the two extremities, coordinating the left hand and the bowing.
These two statements directly echo Havas’s own views regarding the role of the inner
ear1. Mackie also noted that the connection between the inner ear and the finger could
only function freely if the critical self does not interfere. Getting ahead of oneself,
instead of having one’s whole attention fully in the actual moment of playing, is a
major cause of interference in performance. We need to inhabit every moment, not
looking back or forwards, as “now is the only moment we really own” (Mackie,
personal communication, London, 15 July 2003).
1 See 4.4.6.
SA D-q A I; D-w
D-q
D
D-w
I; U-m
A
251
Although I understood what Mackie meant, I did not know how to go about achieving
this, other than to continue with Alexander lessons and to continue working on my
use, which is no doubt essential if one wants to increase and maintain this kind of
focus of awareness. However, at the workshop (Oxford, 19th July, 2003) a couple of
days later, singing the music out loud had the effect of eliminating my critical self, so
that I was able to remain focused in the actual moment of playing. There was no
attention left to think about what I was doing or had just done, or to anticipate what
was coming.
Havas often notes that negative injunctions tend only to focus the mind more fully on
the undesired behaviour, and that it is more helpful to give a pupil something
constructive and positive to do instead1. Trying not to listen to the critical inner voice
or not to think about the physical movements is self-defeating, while singing the note
name automatically focuses the mind on the music, bypassing the distracting thoughts
altogether2. Kenneson (1974: 90) reiterates that the imaginative musical goal images
on which the performer focuses in the New Approach, serve to involve him or her
fully in the actual moment of playing, and that “becoming aware of what is happening
at the moment and responding only to that awareness has wonderful results”. The New
Approach teachers not only identified a certain lack of awareness3 in my playing, but
provided a constructive means whereby I could actively and immediately increase
such awareness, while eliminating my critical self through “dissolving it into a free-
flowing musical communication” (Havas, 1973: 127).
In teaching my own pupils, I have also found that internalising the music away from
the instrument (through rhythmically pulsing, naming the notes and miming) brings
about an immediate and measurable improvement in their coordination when they
subsequently do play on the instrument. The mind is much more focused and
excessive muscular effort is greatly reduced. I have seen over and over that once the
thought has been created, the body responds accurately, and the interferences that are
so often caused by the effort of trying to be right are eliminated. Directing the left
hand finger action, through singing aloud while playing, has also greatly benefited my 1 Cf Havas, 1961: 57. 2 Cf Havas, 1973: 84. It is interesting to mote that Green and Gallwey (1986: 35) reach the same conclusion. 3 See 6.2.3.1.
A
D; I
A
EG
W-n
D
A; I
D
A
D-w
SA-l
MW
A; I
D
U-i
D
D-w
EG; I
D
252
pupils, especially those who had already been playing for some time. There is always
a much greater clarity and increased musical expression in their playing when they
sing instead of trying to make the music with physical effort.
Havas (1964: 34) places great emphasis on stimulating the creative imagination away
from the instrument, so that the character and idea of the music is alive in the player’s
inner ear before the instrument is used to transmit it1. While it is possible to tell pupils
exactly how to phrase, and where to use more or less bow weight or -speed in order to
get the desired effect, I have found that as soon as they themselves connect to the
inner pulse of the music and sing with their own creative musical voice, their phrasing
usually improves dramatically of its own accord. The transformation in a pupil once
they discover their own inner musical voice is very rewarding to witness, and
increases their self-motivation significantly.
The problem with methods of teaching that rely only on imitation, is that in trying to
copy the teacher’s way of phrasing or playing, an enormous amount of effort and
interference can be created in the pupil. Due to faulty sensory awareness2, there can
also be a fair amount of miscommunication between the pupil and the teacher, further
complicating the process. This is outside-in playing, and ultimately does not empower
the student. My own experience with various teachers in the past confirms this.
Through trial and error and repeating phrases over and over, it is possible eventually
to approximate that which the teacher wants to hear, but the effort involved is
considerable, and security in performance remains elusive.
Being taught how to direct one’s use in the comprehensive New Approach way3 is
profoundly empowering. I find that it is possible to achieve a much more satisfying
and secure musical result with much less practise than before. The inside–outward
focus of Havas’s teaching enables pupils to discover their own inner musical voice,
right from the beginning, and to experience the joy of creatively transmitting it
through the violin.
1 See 4.4.6. 2 See 3.3.4. 3 See 5.2.2.3.
U-i
D; EG
D
MW
D
U-i
EG; U-m
SA-u
EG
U-m
D
U-i
MW
D
KE
253
6.3 Conclusion
Kenneson, 1974: 10:
One can only fully appreciate the value of what Miss Havas has to say about playing music when one has accepted and understood the concepts of the New Approach and actually begun to explore it in the context of one’s own playing.
The practical experience of the New Approach lessons gave me a new depth of insight
into the principles of the method. Although I had already obtained an understanding
of the New Approach concepts through studying the literature, the sensory
experiences imparted by Havas and Bakhshayesh in the lessons helped me to discover
subtle tensions that I had been completely unaware of in handling both the instrument
and the bow, and brought about an actual change in my use. I had previously not been
able to access these tensions on a conscious level in order to change them, and it was
only after being guided into feeling the improved movement that I knew the
difference.
The New Approach teaches soft, powerful movements in relation to the instrument, in
effect re-educating the body on a sensory level, as the Alexander Technique does. My
body now seems to seek out these new ways of being and feeling of its own accord.
The New Approach exercises, with their very clear formulation and verbal directions,
enables one to put it all together anew every day, continuing this process of sensory
re-education and changing bad habits to physical conditions that favour optimal
functioning.
Gloria Bakhshayesh (personal communication, Marple, July 2003) noted that all the
New Approach exercises are designed to explore the ways in which one relates to the
instrument, and I have found that, with time, the instrument has become a much more
integrated part of me, so that I no longer only play on or with the viola, but through it,
to a far greater degree than before. Over the past 18 months, as I have been applying
the New Approach directions (and have continued to gain awareness through regular
Alexander lessons), one of the most important changes in my playing is that I am
much more responsive to the slightest tension in my contact with the instrument, and
am able to release it while playing. Stein (1999) confirms that inhibition is a very
powerful tool when one gains the ability to apply it in this way, as tension can be
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released without having to stop, “giving the performer the confidence to get out of
physical trouble no matter what the circumstances” are.
When my mind is totally focused on the music through inwardly singing the music
with the note name and the pulse1, I have found that I no longer tend to run ahead,
anticipating what is about to come or thinking of what went before, so that I am much
more responsive to what is happening in the actual moment in my own body, and also
more responsive to other musicians with whom I happen to be playing.
I have also noticed that my awareness is definitely increased when there is a condition
of “total motion and balance” (Havas, 1973: 127) in my body. Pulsing the rhythm
through my movements2 while playing, has helped me to sharpen this immediate
awareness. I often have the sensation of walking through the subdivisions of the pulse
from one note to the next, with my attention being fully engaged in every step of the
journey. However, I have also noticed that this awareness is always threatened by any
tightness in my body, often as a result of exposure in performance. I sometimes tend
to stiffen my back while playing, holding myself in a static position (supposedly to be
in a state of readiness while playing), but this tendency immediately interferes with
the organic pulse and threatens the acuity of my attention, taking me outside of the
moment. By continually releasing this tension as soon as I perceive it, I have been
able to remain more responsive and in the moment during performance, rather like an
acrobat on a tightrope, being sensitive to and instantly correcting each deviation from
the central point of balance, while maintaining the forward momentum of the pulse.
6.3.1 The framework of key concepts
The practical experience of the New Approach confirms that there is considerable
equivalence with each of the fundamental concepts of the Alexander Technique3. The
New Approach teachers provided a profound intervention into my use and interaction
with the instrument, eliminating interference with the primary control through
teaching me to integrate the instrument with my body, and increasing my sensory
awareness through guided movement and touch.
1 Cf Kenneson, 1974: 50. 2 Cf Kenneson, 1974: 70. 3 See 3.5.1.
A
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Inhibition played a central role in the New Approach lessons. Various misconceptions
and physical tension blockages in my playing were systematically explored so that
they could be eliminated. Both teachers stopped me when they perceived unnecessary
tension in my movements, and guided me in such a way that my habitual responses
were unable to come into play. In this way they facilitated an improved experience of
the movement, which always registered kinaesthetically as lighter and easier than my
habitual use. As a result, I have become able to perceive and inhibit unnecessary
tension to a far greater degree than before.
Very clear directions were linked to the new sensory experiences, so that I would be
able to recreate the movement for myself. These directions comply with the
qualifying features of directing in the Alexander Technique, as set out in table 3.6. I
found that the New Approach is much more concerned with teaching one how to
think, rather than to do. Consequently, I have learnt how to direct my own use to a
much greater degree than I had been able to before, resulting in more precise physical
responses and increased clarity of musical expression.
The New Approach exercises applied in the lessons increased my postural balance,
and I have found that all the playing movements are easier, lighter and more
pleasurable when they are based on balance. The New Approach lessons not only
increased my sensory awareness in my contact with the instrument, but also gave me
an experience of keeping my attention focused in the actual moment of playing.
Through continuing to apply the New Approach principles, I find that the condition of
“total motion and balance” (Havas, 1973: 128) created in my body allows me to
experience an extended field of consciousness, both in my interaction with the
instrument and in interacting with other musicians in performance.
I have gained a significant amount of freedom in my playing. I no longer try to
control my physical movements consciously in performance in an effort to be secure,
but focus only on singing through the base knuckles, and yet I experience far greater
technical accuracy in my playing than ever before. The soft sensations generated in
touching the instrument and the beautiful, rich tone that is produced seemingly
without any effort, has given me great joy and pleasure in performance. I have also
found that it is essential to repeat the New Approach exercises on a regular basis, in
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order to maintain the sensitivity of touch and awareness that I had gained through the
New Approach lessons.
Apart from the obvious similarities in the way in which the New Approach and the
Alexander teachers imparted sensory experiences to me, I found that many of the
comments and observations they made were also very similar. In both the New
Approach and the Alexander lessons, I had a sense of working together with the
teacher in a non-judgmental atmosphere, exploring tensions and finding solutions.
The teachers from both methods paid very close attention to my use, providing
accurate observation and guidance, but with no criticism or judgment. A strong
means-whereby approach was followed at all times, and the language used in
conveying the necessary information was always very precise.
It is clear that the New Approach lessons confirmed the conclusions that were reached
in the comparative study regarding the parallels between the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique.
6.3.2 Participatory action research
The changes brought about in my playing and teaching through the practical
experience of the New Approach lessons, fulfil one of the major characteristics of
participatory action research. Babbie and Mouton (2001: 321) note that the positive
and remedial changes facilitated through participatory action research distinguishes it
from other types of action research. The central focus in PAR is the empowerment of
the participants (Babbie & Mouton, 2001: 322), which in this case included myself as
researcher as well as participant, and the pupils to whom I applied the New Approach
principles that I had learnt. My experience of the New Approach, in both performing
and teaching, confirms that the method aims to empower the musician to direct his or
her own use in a way that is very similar to the corresponding process in the
Alexander Technique.
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6.4 Triangulation: the KHANA newsletters1
At the New Approach lessons in Oxford (July 2003), I obtained copies of the
KHANA (Kató Havas Association for the New Approach) newsletters, dating from
1985 to 2003. This newsletter appears biannually and each volume includes an
editorial by Kató Havas, as well as articles and feedback from numerous people who
had benefited from the New Approach.
Many of the correspondents are professional musicians, who mention debilitating pain
and injuries sustained in playing their instruments as the reason for initially becoming
involved with the New Approach, and all report that they obtained dramatic relief
through the method. Havas herself notes that “if the inbuilt balances are correctly
applied while playing the violin, aches and pains are totally irrelevant” (Havas, 1987:
1). Many of the articles also report increased awareness and improved mind-body
coordination as a result of eliminating unnecessary physical tensions. Frequent
reference is made to a new sense of ease and effortlessness experienced in playing the
violin, as well as the newfound joy and exhilaration in making music as a result of the
New Approach2.
The correspondents include professional musicians (performers and teachers, several
of whom are professors of music at various institutions), as well as amateurs from all
walks of life, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, medical doctors, biologists,
psychotherapists, computer programmers and nuclear physicists. Some of the articles
give additional scientific validity to the New Approach, such as an article by Dr Brian
Whitfield, a musculoskeletal specialist, who gives a rationale for the dominance of the
left hand in the New Approach in the light of the neuro-physiological law of
hemispheric dominance3. Only two of the articles, both written by Alexander
teachers, specifically address parallels between the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach, and these will be used for the purposes of triangulating the findings of this
study.
1 The KHANA newsletters are used with the kind permission of Kató Havas. 2 See 4.5.3, as well as appendix F for specific examples of such feedback. 3 See F.1 in appendix F for excerpts from Dr. Whitfield’s article.
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6.4.1 Hilary Foxwell
Foxwell (1987: 3) is a professional violist who became involved with the Alexander
Technique in an effort to find solutions to the pain and discomfort she experienced in
her playing. As the Technique brought her much relief, she trained and qualified as an
Alexander teacher. However, she notes that even with the improved use obtained
through the Alexander Technique, there “were still some hurdles in playing” that she
was unable to overcome (Foxwell, 1987: 3).
Foxwell, 1987: 3:
Although the Alexander Technique has been extremely helpful in my playing, it was not so easy to apply the Technique to the finer problems associated with the violin and viola. These finer problems, like the unconscious tendencies to grip the instrument and the bow, require specific insight and awareness.
This “specific insight and awareness” was subsequently provided by Havas, who
helped her “to join the instrument of the body and the musical instrument into one
united whole” when Foxwell had a series of lessons with her (Foxwell, 1987: 3). With
her comprehensive experience of both the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach, Foxwell (1987: 3) asserts the two techniques to be totally compatible.
Foxwell, 1987: 3:
Both bring about changes in habits, and in unconscious reactions, which result in a greater awareness of appropriate and inappropriate tension in the body. The inappropriate tensions are particularly insidious in string playing since they have often grown from the very first encounter with the violin or viola.
In pointing out the similarities between the two techniques, Foxwell (1987: 3)
mentions the following aspects:
1. The stance
In both methods, keeping the skeleton aligned and the joints free and mobile provides
the framework within which all movement takes place. The feet are apart, giving a
firm base and balance, and the back is vertical (lengthening) while the shoulders are
horizontal and relaxed, so that the arms are able to move freely from the sockets. This
allows the widening of the back and chest, which in turn provides a resonator for the
sound when playing the violin.
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2. The balance of the head
The balance of the head on the atlas bone (the top vertebrae of the spine) is an
important similarity in the two techniques: the head is not titled or turned sideways.
Foxwell (1987: 3) adds that the New Approach exercises teaches one to find one’s
balance point, by “inserting the instrument into the neck in such a way that there is
literally a feeling of there being ‘no viola-hold’ at all”.
3. Heightened sensory awareness
The New Approach brings about a heightened sensory awareness in one’s contact
with the instrument. Havas made Foxwell aware of unnoticed tensions, such as
tightening the left hand fingers in playing, and pressing down on the fingerboard, and
these tendencies were relieved through the New Approach exercises. Foxwell found
that the New Approach teaching of focusing the “inner eye” on hidden tension points
increased her sensory awareness, allowing her to experience greater freedom and
flexibility in all aspects of left hand technique.
4. Inhibition
Foxwell (1987: 3) notes, “Both techniques are based on preventing faulty movements,
not in correcting them by imposing activities on the existing problems”. Wrong use is
stopped at the source, and easy, natural movements are taught instead. Strength or
effort is not required in either method.
Other similarities that Foxwell found enlightening, include the importance of
releasing tension in the thumbs (an important point in the Alexander Technique) and
the central role that the thumbs play in the New Approach. While the rhythmic pulse
is not specifically used in the Alexander Technique, as it does not incorporate music,
Foxwell found that using the rhythmic pulse allows for additional freedom, co-
ordination and ease of movement in playing. The New Approach concepts such as the
rhythmic pulse and the inter-related, fluid joints are all compatible with the conscious
expansion of the body, as taught in the Alexander Technique. Foxwell (1987: 3)
concludes that the New Approach enriched not only her viola playing, but also her
Alexander teaching.
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Foxwell, 1987: 3:
The additional insights of balance, rhythmic pulse, left-hand flexibility, the proper use of the thumbs, and the inner eye in the New Approach have enhanced beyond measure my awareness and enjoyment, both in my playing and in teaching the Alexander Technique. 6.4.2 Wade Alexander
The cellist Wade Alexander reaches many of the same conclusions as Foxwell, but
adds a couple of additional insights. Contrary to Foxwell, Alexander (1988: 4)
became involved with the New Approach first, before being introduced to the
Alexander Technique, after which he studied the two methods simultaneously for a
number of years. Upon retiring from a long cello teaching career, he decided to train
as an Alexander teacher as well. His article for the KHANA newsletter was written
two years after commencing the Alexander teacher-training course.
Alexander (1988: 4) notes that the importance given to the use of the head, neck and
back in the New Approach directly echoes the centrality of the primary control in the
Alexander Technique. He also found the way in which Havas used her hands, to guide
his movements in implementing the New Approach ideas, to be very similar to the
teaching procedure in the Alexander Technique lessons. Another similarity between
the two methods relates to Havas’s use of specific verbal directions. Alexander (1988:
4) found that Havas’s “verbal directions…draw on the same process used by the
Alexander Technique”, and “lead to consciously controlling one’s activities”.
Inhibition is one of the key aspects of the Alexander Technique, in which one stops to
consider “a new and better use of one’s self (body and mind)”, and Alexander (1988:
4) found that Havas’s frequent injunctions to stop, gave him the same experience of
inhibition while learning new violin-playing techniques. This process of inhibition is
essential in learning to improve behaviour, and demands psychophysical coordination.
Alexander, 1988: 4:
We learn to inhibit the old, undesired habits and then replace them with improved ones which are consciously controlled. During my lessons with Kato she worked with me to replace my faulty habitual movements with desirable ones.
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Alexander (1988: 4) describes a three-stage process used in working with students
with faulty use, that is common to both the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach. The first step is to analyse the existing use in order to identify the faulty
behaviour, which is then inhibited in the second step. Thirdly, the undesired habits are
replaced with new improved ways of functioning. This process requires a teacher’s
guide and assistance, and inhibition is the key to preventing the re-occurrence of
faulty movements.
Like Foxwell, Alexander (1988: 4) mentions the similarities of the stance in the New
Approach and the Alexander Technique, and calls the Havas stance a shallow position
of mechanical advantage that facilitates violin playing while standing. Finally,
Alexander (1988: 4) found that his experience and knowledge of the Alexander
Technique enhanced his ability to make use of the New Approach concepts.
6.4.3 Postlude
It is clear that both Foxwell and Alexander recognise the same parallels between the
Alexander Technique and the New Approach that have been brought to light by this
study. This includes the following aspects:
1. The centrality and importance of the primary control and sensory
awareness in improving one’s use
2. The intervention provided through guided movement, and learning
consciously to inhibit faulty habits and to project directions for improved
use
It has already been noted that numerous reports1 in the KHANA newsletters confirm
the improved use that is brought about by the New Approach intervention, and this
includes reference to the lightness and ease of the ensuing movements, increased
balance and awareness as well as greater freedom and control in playing the violin.
The feedback in the KHANA newsletters, stretching over nearly twenty years, offers
persuasive evidence that the New Approach indeed does make playing the violin easy
1 See 4.5.3, as well as appendix F for specific examples of such feedback.
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for many who had thought it not only difficult, but also impossible to achieve
expressive freedom on the instrument1.
1 Cf Havas, 1973: 136.
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Chapter 7
Conclusion
7.1 Summary: The New Approach
The New Approach essentially deals with the way in which a violinist uses his or her
body to translate musical thought through physical movement into sound. The method
identifies and eliminates faulty movements that lead to undesirable results, and
teaches an improved use through employing the fundamental balances and fostering
inside-outward playing. A balanced, dynamic stance with the violin, resulting in the
freedom of the head, neck and shoulders, is the foundation on which all other aspects
of technique rest, and sensory awareness is cultivated as an integral part of the
method.
The New Approach provides an intervention that effectively eliminates the negative
conditions in a pupil’s body that allow bad technical habits to exist. By reconditioning
a pupil’s use through a whole body technique based on natural balance, conditions are
created that allow for ease and reliability of movement, as well as increased musical
expression. Through touch and guided movement, a pupil is given new sensory
experiences that enable him or her to recognize and eliminate rigidity in the body.
Inhibiting the mental and physical causes of misuse (that are identified with the
teacher’s guidance), along with carefully worked out directions for improved use, is
the means whereby change is brought about in the New Approach.
The New Approach procedures bring about a sense of ease and well being in playing
the violin, which is strongly reinforcing and self-motivating. Postural balance is
improved as interference with the righting reflexes is eliminated, allowing for
effortless and graceful natural movements to evolve1. Although the physical aspects
of violin playing are made much easier, it demands a great deal of attention in order to
learn this approach. The New Approach brings about an extended field of awareness
in relation to the instrument, and the player experiences increased control and
freedom, as the instrument becomes an extension of the living, expressive body.
1 Hellebrandt, 1969: 279.
264
The New Approach uniquely explores the interferences that arise from the body’s
physical response to touching the instrument, thereby offering a solution to the
immobility that many musicians experience in their playing movements. Havas
recognises that a lack of clarity in the mental conception of the music is a significant
cause of anxiety in musicians, and her method is specifically designed to eliminate
such anxiety1. The mental anxieties that are generated by the pressures of
performance are also addressed.
7.2 Concluding comparisons
The primary aim of this study was to explore and identify parallels between ‘The New
Approach to violin playing’, developed by Kató Havas, and the Alexander Technique.
Both the comparative literature study and the participatory action research revealed
significant and far-reaching congruence between the two methods, that far exceeds the
initial expectations with which this study was commenced. The parallels extend
beyond the physical re-education of movement to the underlying philosophies and
principles of the respective methods, as well as the application of specific procedures
and their outcomes.
The similarities between the two methods are largely due to the fact that both the
Alexander Technique and the New Approach have a biomechanical and neuro-
physiological rationale, consistent with established principles of physiology and
psychology2.
The following concluding comparisons can be drawn from the research findings:
1. Both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach seek to alter use, not
functioning, and are primarily concerned with eradicating the conditions that
allow misuse to exist
In focusing on the specific means for improving use rather than attempting to control
functioning directly, the New Approach and the Alexander Technique demonstrate a
significant harmony in philosophy. The inhibition of interference is the central tool
for improving use in both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach. 1 See 6.2.7. 2 See 5.4.2.
265
The inside-outward emphasis of the New Approach follows a very strong means-
whereby principle. End-gaining practises and thoughts are the antithesis of New
Approach philosophy, and are systematically uncovered and eliminated. The
integrated, balanced use of the body is obtained in the first instance by conditioning
the total locomotor pattern, and not by mechanical exercises to improve partial
patterns1. As interference with the righting reflexes are eliminated, muscular harmony
throughout the body is obtained, making physical functioning more efficient.
Neither method promotes repetitive, mechanical exercises as a means for influencing
physical functioning, as such procedures only exacerbate mind-body disconnection.
Rather, the integration and coordination of the mind and the body, through which
optimal functioning is facilitated, is the primary focus at all times in both methods.
Such a unity of mind and body depends on freedom from mental as well as physical
interferences. The Alexander Technique and the New Approach consistently address
mental anxieties and misconceptions, as well as physical rigidity and muscular
dystonia, in the search for psycho-physical unity.
2. Both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach eliminate the traditional
teacher-pupil relationship
The response to negative criticism and authoritarian attitudes was among the anxieties
identified and addressed in both methods. All anxiety inevitably manifest as a
tightening in the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle2, thereby interfering with the
primary control. An authoritarian teaching paradigm therefore greatly hampers the
pupil’s ability to learn a balanced whole body technique. Consequently, both the
Alexander Technique and the New Approach eliminate the traditional teacher-pupil
relationship in favour of a non-judgmental partnership, in which the pupil is guided
and empowered to gain mastery of his or her own use.
3. Two distinct processes can be identified in both the Alexander Technique and
the New Approach
The first process involves the detailed, conscious learning of good use, followed by
the automation of technique, in which one acts with abandon and without regard to 1 See 5.2.1.2 and 5.2.3.2. 2 Cf Jones, 1976: 150 and Barlow, 1973: 180.
266
the physical outcome1. Neither process is of functional value without the other: the
effortless ease of improved use is entirely dependent on first eliminating misuse and
learning to direct one’s use through painstaking attention, while it is imperative that
directing should eventually become more efficient. This kind of automatism, still
remaining accessible to the will, requires a specific learning process2, which the
research results have shown to be very similar in the Alexander Technique and the
New Approach.
4. Like the Alexander Technique, the New Approach teaches a structured use of
the self, in which the central co-ordination of the trunk is maintained as a core
structure3
The research findings show that there is a very deep resonance between the inside-
outward playing of the New Approach and the integrated use of the self in the
Alexander Technique. Other sources confirm this conclusion: Casals’s idea that the
playing impulses originate from the centre of the body, rather than the extremities, is
recognised by Alexander teachers to be in congruence with the “overall integration”
that is the aim in the Alexander Technique (Mackie, 2000: 68). In his treatise on the
evolution of cello pedagogy, Smith (1996) argues that Casals’s “pedagogical
principles found greater clarity of formulation in the ‘New Approach’ of violinist
Kato Havas”, which “continues the progress to the center of the body, and the
coordination of all aspects of technique in the expressive impulse”.
5. Both the New Approach and the Alexander Technique promote psycho-
physical coordination
The Alexander Technique and the New Approach both use the self as a balanced
whole, rather than in segmented thoughts and movements. A body in balance, in
which the reflex systems are restored to optimal functioning, is responsive to mental
direction: it fulfils the conditions necessary for “coordinative, integrative thought” to
set in motion “co-ordinated, integrated activity” (De Alcantara, 1997: 54).
1 See 5.2.3.4. 2 De Alcantara, 1997: 58. 3 See 5.2.1.2.
267
While there are musicians who seem to demonstrate an instinctive integration of mind
and body in performance, such use may be largely unconscious and is therefore not
exempt from breakdown1. Another major disadvantage of such automatic
performance is that it cannot be changed, due to the lack of awareness involved2.
Through heightened awareness and teaching a structured use of the self (thereby
refining the connections between one’s thoughts and actions), the New Approach and
the Alexander Technique both bring about the potential for the conscious,
constructive control of one’s use, empowering the individual to counteract negative
influences and habitual reactions that may interfere with optimal functioning.
In the New Approach, the student’s self-interference is inhibited through “eliminating
the self” in communicating the music (Havas, 1973: 127), so that the desired results
can be allowed to happen, rather than pursued or controlled3. Mind and movement are
coordinated in an expressive impulse, as the mental conception of the music is turned
into sound through the carefully structured use that the New Approach establishes in
the student. Apart from the obvious parallels regarding postural balance and
eliminating interference, this coordination of mind and movement is one of the most
striking similarities between the New Approach and the Alexander Technique. It is
also in this “ideokinetic” directing (Kenneson, 1974: 89) that the uniqueness of the
New Approach, in relation to other violin methods, can be found:
Hellebrandt, 1970b: 479
Havas makes obligatory in all playing, even that of beginners, procedures generally recognized as indispensable in virtuoso performance. These have to do with the encoding of perceptual patterns which are the precursors of the physical act of playing.
Herein, Havas re-orders the priorities, fundamentally changing the whole pedagogical
approach to violin playing. In identifying and encoding the coordinative processes for
the desired movements, the New Approach moves away from a purely imitative
teaching paradigm, an idea that is supported in the Alexander Technique.
1 The example of Menuhin (as cited in Sand, 2000: 155) has already been cited in this regard, in 1.3. Vivien Mackie (2000) also recounts the difficulty she experienced due to not knowing what she was doing. 2 Cf Jones, 1976: 175. 3 Cf Stein, 1999. See 5.2.2.2.
268
6. Through teaching one to direct one’s use, both the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique overcome the limitations of imitative learning
De Alcantara (1997: 60) cautions that imitative reactions can only work if a person is
fully responsive to the image. Due to faulty sensory awareness, learning by imitation
often has the effect of dis-coordinating a person even further (De Alcantara, 1997:
60). Imitating a model when faulty sensory awareness conditions both one’s
conceptions and experiences1, inevitably results in misinterpretation and misuse.
Until a particular movement is actually experienced, the pupil remains
kinaesthetically blind to it. Intellectual or theoretical knowledge about the movement
can neither substitute for nor impart the experiential know-how needed for the
movement to become a part of the pupil’s actual use. Consequently, the pupil has to
be guided and coached into such an experience by the teacher. Both the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach provide an intervention into the pupil’s use through
touch and guided movement2. Thus a student is not merely given verbal instruction to
follow or shown what to imitate3, but kinaesthetic information is conveyed directly
from the master teacher to the student, bypassing the vicious circle of faulty sensory
awareness and misconception4.
Through linking the carefully worked out, sequentially ordered directions to this
actual experience, the coordinates for the desired physical movements are clarified
and encoded in the pupil’s mind. The directions provide a means whereby the pupil
may negotiate his or her kinaesthetic blindness in order to reproduce the desired
movement again, until the movement itself becomes habituated. Even then, the
directions serve as a standard of kinaesthetic memory against which unnecessary
tensions may be identified and inhibited. As pupils are taught how to direct their use,
rather than to copy or imitate, they gain independence and become their own experts
in the use of themselves.
A unique feature of the New Approach is that the sequential directions are always
linked to a rhythmic pulse. This aims to promote the pupil’s full attention in the actual 1 See 3.3.4. 2 See 5.2.2.1. 3 See 3.3.4. 4 See 5.2.1.3.
269
moment of movement, thereby eliminating unnecessary mental interferences1.
Another fundamental difference between the Alexandrian and New Approach
directions is that the true focal direction for all movement in the New Approach is the
expression of the musical intent of the performer1.
My personal experience of the New Approach, both in playing and in teaching, is that
this musical direction allows the authentic musical voice of the individual to emerge,
and this is noticeable even at a beginner stage of learning the instrument. The inside-
out playing of the New Approach not only eliminates physical distortions that hamper
the performer’s expressive abilities, but also brings clarity to the violinist’s musical
conception that is entirely natural and convincing. This clarity is due in large part to
the organic rhythmic pulse that is central in the New Approach. Furthermore, as
physical misuse (the inevitable result of attempting to create musical effects through
conscious physical efforts) is eliminated, the violinist’s true musical voice can be
expressed simply, clearly and directly2.
7. Kinaesthetic information is increased and organized on a conscious level in
both the New Approach and the Alexander Technique
Teaching through touch provides the teacher with a very powerful tool with which to
identify hidden tensions that may not be visually apparent, but which exert a negative
influence on the pupil’s use. Tension in a pupil’s back, for instance, can often be felt
quite clearly in the quality of muscle tone in the pupil’s hands. Likewise, a pupil
learns a great deal about the kinaesthetic quality of a movement through touching the
teacher while he or she performs a movement. These ways of conveying kinaesthetic
information are integral features of both the Alexander Technique and the New
Approach3.
Both methods significantly increase sensory perception, thereby extending the “the
scope of self-observation a long way beyond the visual” (Jones, 1976: 138). As a
1 See the transcript of the interview with Havas in appendix D. 2 See 6.2.7. De Alcantara (1997: 212) confirms that using oneself well while making music takes care of most of one’s interpretative work as a musician: “To ‘put feeling’ into your performances is to end-gain. Feeling should arise of its own, through the freedom of the technique and the substance of the music itself…If you seek freedom, beauty will arrive of its own. But if you seek beauty directly, you risk losing freedom and its attendant beauty”. 3 See 5.2.2.1 and 6.2.5.
270
result, ever-changing relationships within the body itself, and also between the body
and the instrument, can be examined critically in terms of tension and release1 so that
habitual reactions and misuse can be perceived and inhibited. In the New Approach,
the resulting sound quality is always linked to the physical touch, thereby adding
another important criterion to this process of self-observation.
The nature of kinaesthetic learning is that it has to be reinforced repeatedly, and both
methods aim to nurture the connections between the mind and the body on an on-
going basis. Gaining an intellectual understanding about a movement does not
guarantee sensory knowledge of such a movement, and therefore the body continually
has to be reminded and coached into an experience of good use. Through the stresses
incurred in life, and especially in instrumental performance, tensions accumulate that
inevitably manifest in one’s physical use, interfering with postural balance and the
reflex systems of the body. Through heightened kinaesthetic awareness, one becomes
increasingly more skilled in recognising and eliminating such unnecessary tensions.
The well-structured exercises of the New Approach (which are all essentially a search
for awareness in one’s contact with the instrument) provide a very clear guide in this
continual process of sensory re-education. As the player’s individual tightening points
are explored and eliminated, the unity of mind and body is enhanced in a “subtle but
powerful co-ordination of thinking and moving” (Madden, 2002), leading to an
exuberant joy in expressing the music through the violin, with greater ease2.
7.3 Final perspectives
Makarski (as cited in Eisler, 2001: 51) pointed out that the Alexander Technique “is
hardly ever taught from the perspective of a violinist who has experienced the
pressures of playing and performing”. This study has shown that Havas intuitively
incorporated principles similar to those in the Alexander Technique in her violin
method. With her personal experience of the demands of a performing career, and the
pain and frustration that can be involved in pursuing an expressive violin technique,
Havas is able to point out the way to eliminate many of the blockages that can keep
violinists from realising their full potential. 1 Cf Jones, 1976: 139. 2 See 5.2.3.1.
271
As a consummate violinist and creative artist, Havas has a profound understanding of
the way in which the instrument needs to be handled in order to elicit the desired
response, and this is the information that she is able to convey to her students. An
Alexander teacher deals with the general use of the body, which then has to be applied
in playing the instrument. However, the specific requirements imposed on the player
by the instrument1 remains an unknown factor, unless the Alexander teacher also
happens to be a musician, with the same artistic insight2. The particular value of the
New Approach lies in the fact that Havas combines her technical and artistic
knowledge of the violin’s acoustical characteristics and capabilities, with an intuitive
understanding of the conditions necessary for the optimal psycho-physical functioning
of the violinist3.
The New Approach is based on universal principles, such as those that are found in
the Alexander Technique, and naturally gifted performers often demonstrate many of
the precepts that are taught in the New Approach. Through organising these principles
into a structured method4, Havas makes it possible for all violinists, including
beginners, to integrate these principles and procedures with their own playing.
As the Alexander Technique does not deal with music performance as such, it does
not address the specific areas of misuse in relation to the instrument, which the New
Approach explores in depth. However, like Foxwell and Alexander5, I did find the
Alexander Technique very useful in applying many of the New Approach exercises.
The increased awareness and ability to inhibit that I obtained through the regular
Alexander lessons, enabled me to absorb much more during the New Approach
lessons, and has also helped me considerably in teaching the New Approach to my
pupils.
One’s total pattern of coordination and general use in daily living will inevitably have
an influence on the ease with which the New Approach procedures can be applied,
and therefore Alexander lessons in conjunction with New Approach lessons would be 1 Cf Gardner, 1985: 276. See 4.5.3. 2 Examples of such Alexander teachers include the cellists Pedro de Alcantara (1997) and Vivien Mackie (2000), both of whom are used as sources in this study. 3 Cf Hellebrandt, 1969: 277. 4 See interview transcript in appendix D. 5 See 6.4.1 and 6.4.2.
272
very beneficial. However, learning a balanced whole body technique in the New
Approach also does affect one’s general use, and the influence of New Approach
exercises (such as the winging and riding on the pulse) on other, non-musical aspects
of life have already been noted1. A combination of the New Approach and the
Alexander Technique would no doubt be a more effective way of changing habitual
behaviour with regard to instrumental performance, but the application of the New
Approach by itself is already enough to bring about such improved use. The
Alexander Technique could speed up this process significantly, however, especially in
cases where a student’s general coordination and use are severely compromised.
While an intellectual knowledge of the New Approach principles, obtained through
reading about the method, can be helpful to a degree, it is only through actual lessons
with a trained New Approach teacher that the true value of the method can be
appreciated. As in the Alexander Technique, New Approach teachers cannot teach a
better use than they themselves possess2, and therefore the degree of training that the
New Approach teacher has had, would play a role in the success of the lessons. Given
the nature of kinaesthetic learning, it is doubtful whether a New Approach workshop,
such as I attended in Oxford, could be sufficient in itself to convey adequately the
essence of the New Approach. At the very least, an intensive ‘Six Lesson Course’
would be necessary in order to gain a true understanding of the benefits that the New
Approach has to offer.
7.4 Methodological issues
The fact that the ‘Framework of key concepts’ was fairly comprehensive could be
seen as a possible disadvantage, as it resulted in an extensive comparative literature
study that far exceeded the requirements for a study of this nature. However, the
comprehensiveness of the ‘Framework’ is simultaneously its strength. It has been
noted3 that using words to describe information relating to sensory experience is
problematic, as even very simple acts “require familiarity with quite small detail if it
is to be understood” (Barlow, 1973: 223). The comprehensive and detailed nature of
the ‘Framework of key concepts’ therefore secured a more accurate research result,
1 See 6.4 and appendix F. 2 See 3.4.1. 3 See 2.2.2.
273
and also brought about a depth of insight into the procedures of the New Approach
that otherwise would not have been possible.
At the same time, the detailed analysis of the procedures common to the New
Approach and the Alexander Technique, illuminated processes whereby optimal use
may be obtained in instrumental performance. For instance, by identifying the
qualifying characteristics of directions1, specific and very pertinent information is
made available to those seeking to understand the ways in which the coordinates of
improved use may be identified and projected. Such information needs to be detailed
in order to be useful: merely pointing out that both methods employ directions does
not have much practical value. This argument is obviously true for each of the
Alexander concepts included in the framework.
With regard to the validity of the data, submitting the text at regular intervals to
teachers from both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach2 ensured that the
data was accurately presented and that interpretations of the data remained
conceptually close to the essence of both techniques. As all the teachers were able to
recognise the similarities in the method that they were unfamiliar with, it seems that
sufficient conceptual equivalence was obtained in the study. This is confirmed by the
fact that a high degree of equivalence between the two methods was also recognised
in the two documented instances in which teachers of the Alexander Technique had
had direct experience of the New Approach3.
7.5 Further recommendations
This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the New Approach, a method of violin
teaching that deserves to be more widely known. By having summarised and
integrated many New Approach sources into one volume, a resource is provided that
could be useful as a reference for those who are interested in the method. For
instance, most people who read Havas’s books do not have access to the very
important articles on the biomechanical rationale of the New Approach written by Dr
Hellebrandt, or the KHANA newsletters.
1 See 3.3.6 and 5.2.2.3. 2 See appendix A for the feedback from these teachers regarding the findings in this study. 3 See 6.4.
274
Furthermore, the data in this report is presented in such a way that specific
information is readily available to those with a particular enquiry regarding the
Alexander Technique, the New Approach or ways in which to increase sensory
awareness and promote kinaesthetic learning in pupils.
An additional study that could be undertaken in the light of this research, would be to
conduct a ‘Six Lesson Course’ with randomly chosen violinists, under controlled
conditions. Capturing the data through videotape for objective observation, combined
with questionnaires to ascertain the subjective experience of the participants, could
further validate the findings of this research. Jones (1974: 139) argues that once the
“changing relationships between parts of the body and between the body and the
environment” can be observed “in terms of levels of tension and relaxation, of
lightness and heaviness, as well as of position and movement”, one has opened up
new areas of the self to scientific observation. Combining a subjective report “of a
reduction in the effort expended to move” with objective, data based observations,
could provide an index of efficiency of the particular procedures (Jones, 1974: 190).
Although such an enquiry was originally envisaged as a complementary component of
this project, it far exceeds the requirements for a study of this nature and therefore had
to be abandoned.
7.6 Aims accomplished
In conclusion, all the aims and objectives that were identified in the research problem
were fulfilled in the course of this study. The specific parallels between the Alexander
Technique and the New Approach were identified and catalogued, using the
‘Framework of key concepts’ as a guide. A deeper knowledge and understanding of
the New Approach was obtained through examining the method in the light of the
Alexander Technique. While this of necessity imposed a specific slant on the New
Approach, it was also entirely appropriate that it did so, as the primary aim of this
study was to identify specific parallels between the two methods. Using the Alexander
Technique as a measuring tool gave a much deeper insight into the New Approach
and specifically illuminated some of the reasons for the efficacy of the method that
are not immediately apparent in reading the New Approach literature.
275
A secondary aim of this study was to ascertain the degree of actual influence that
Alexander may have had on the New Approach, and through the qualitative interview
with Havas1 and the additional correspondence2 with other key figures, it was
determined that Alexander had not been a direct influence on Havas’s formulation of
the New Approach. The degree of similarity between the two methods is due to the
fact that they are both based on universally recognised physiological and
psychological principles.
The research findings indicate that ‘The New Approach to violin playing’ shows
profound congruence with the Alexander Technique, a scientifically verified method
for promoting kinaesthetic learning and re-education, and coordinating the mind and
the body. The New Approach is a very powerful tool in eliminating physical and
mental interferences, thereby making the acquisition of an expressive technique more
accessible to all.
1 See appendix D. 2 See appendix E.
276
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APPENDIX A FEEDBACK
A.1 The Alexander Technique: Becker
29th November 2004 Dear Marina This is an excellent study and I endorse everything that you have written about the Alexander Technique. I cannot comment on the New Approach, other than to say that what you have written, makes perfect sense to me. You write with commendable insight into the two techniques which you compare. It is extremely difficult to write about anything that has to be experienced in order to be understood, and I think you succeeded in achieving just that. You write with such clarity and understanding that both the professional and the layperson should be able to follow your thesis.
Yours sincerely
Yvonne Becker
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A.2. The New Approach: Havas
KATO HAVAS, OBE 72 Victoria Road Oxford OX2 7QE Tel/fax: (01865) 514094 Website: http://www.katohavas.com 1st December 2004
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I read Marina Louw's thesis with interest. I found it to be an excellent, in-depth work of ‘The New Approach to Violin Playing’. Also, at her lessons with me, she was most receptive and I very much enjoyed working with her. KATO HAVAS, OBE
286
A.3. The New Approach: Bakhshayesh
Gloria Bakhshayesh 3 Beacon View Marple Stockport SK6 6PX 14 December 2004 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I have read with great interest the thesis by Marina Louw, comparing the FM Alexander Technique with ‘The New Approach to Violin Playing’ of Kato Havas. The New Approach of Kato Havas is described very thoroughly and with clear understanding of the detail and structure of the work. In reading the account of experiences during the course of lessons that Miss Louw took with me in July 2003, I was reminded of her deep interest in really absorbing the true essence of the Approach and her responsiveness in learning to apply the physical balances correctly. She displayed an open attitude to the holistic nature of the work, appreciating and experiencing the links between the mind and body and the musical imagination. She made full use of the opportunity for learning, asking searching questions where appropriate and taking full notes. Her account shows that she has taken away a good working knowledge and understanding which she has put to positive use in her teaching and playing. I have no hesitation in endorsing what she has written. Gloria Bakhshayesh Personal Representative to Kato Havas OBE
287
APPENDIX B CODES
USE • Misuse • Improved use
U U-m U-i
END-GAINING
EG
MEANS-WHEREBY
MW
PRIMARY CONTROL • Misuse of PC • Improved use of PC
PC PC-m PC-i
SENSORY AWARENESS • Unreliability of SA • Lack of SA • Increased/improved SA
SA SA-u SA-l SA-i
GUIDED MOVEMENT • Use of the hands • Touch, kinaesthetic information
GM GM-h GM-t
INHIBITION
I
DIRECTIONS • Qualifying characteristics • Psycho-physical whole • Direction and inhibition
D D-q D-w D-I
KINAESTHETIC EFFECT
KE
CONTROL AND FREEDOM • Prerequisites
CF CF-p
POSTURAL BALANCE
PB
REFLEXES
R
ATTENTION AND AWARENESS • Extended field of awareness
A A-e
TEACHING • Characteristics of good teaching • Counter-productive procedures
T T-g T-n
WORDS • Negative effects of Words
W W-n
288
APPENDIX C HAVAS: WORDS
These lists are based on Havas’s discussion on the power of words (1973: 96–98).
Words creating release
Related Activity Result
Rest, nestle, cradle Violin hold A physical response of softness and release in contact with the instrument.
Soft, silk, satin Touch; texture of instrument
A physical response of softness and release in contact with the instrument.
Swing, slide, fan, spread, cuddle, curl
Left hand action Physical release in the hand and fingers, unlocking tension; ease of movement.
Rest, open, close, fly Bowing Facilitates release of tension and cortical control of the bow action; reflexive bowing.
Move, flow, give, love, peace, release, pulse, through, unite
Before performance, alleviating stage fright
Words associated with harmonious activities, can be of great value for release of stage fright when used in the right moment.
Power
Performance
This word tends to be associated with an authority greater than oneself, with an endless supply of energy and movement; it can help to release anxiety and tension.
Words causing tension
Related Activity Result
Hold, grip Violin hold and bow grip
The static images of these words create a tendency for localized, segmented efforts.
Push, pull
Bowing movement These words create the misconception that the fingers motivate the bow stroke.
Stretch LH finger action, especially 4th finger
It causes anticipatory tension in the finger, and consequently in the hand, thumb and wrist.
Hit, press LH finger-action; bowing
Rigidity in both hands; super-imposed pressure in all the playing movements.
Jump Shifting Creates the image of an endless fingerboard, leading to anxiety regarding intonation.
Shake Vibrato The false impression of a super-imposed oscillation, separate from tone production and intonation.
Good, bad Evaluation of pupil’s performance
Accentuates existing self-doubts; increases anxiety.
Loud Dynamics Influences both left and right hands; the word arouses a static physical response.
Listen, concentrate
Performance These words cause a constant concern with the self and hinder the flow of subconscious transmission.
Force
Performance
This word is often connected to violence, or intense effort, and consequently generates tension and anxiety. (I.e: “I must force myself to play well”.)
289
APPENDIX D INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
This interview was conducted with Kató Havas at her home in Oxford during a lesson that I had with her on the 17th July 2003.
ML: You said yesterday that you had to retrain yourself. What were the major influences in this retraining? Kató Havas mentions Telmanyi, Waldbauer and the playing of the gypsies as the principal influences of her early years. Later, due to the strains and pressures of her concert career, she sought lessons with Louis Persinger, who praised her and gave very general advice (such as to play some things faster and others softer), but was unable to help her find solutions to the physical discomfort she was experiencing. Eugene Ormandy referred her to David Mendoza, who was the first person to make her aware that the base knuckles are the source of the playing movements of the left hand fingers. Mendoza had a great influence on Havas, and by applying the principles she had learned from him, together with her own explorations, she started to experience the beauty of tone and ease of playing that she had longed for1. ML: I wanted to ask you about some of the other influences on your work. Last year when I was doing the comparative study of violin methods that I told you about…the thing that struck me was the deep harmony between your method and the principles of Alexander Technique. I wanted to ask you whether there was any direct or indirect influence from Alexander on your work. KH: When I gave my talk when the first book was published at Bosworth, two of the most prominent teachers of the Alexander Technique came to the workshop. Some of my pupils have become Alexander teachers…and they (all) say it is exactly the same. People ask me if I have Zen. I didn’t even know who Zen was, I had to look and find out what Zen is doing. Because it really boils down to common sense. You can’t do anything which is not natural. Just remain normal when you are playing. I didn’t invent the physical movements; they were there forever. All I did, I discovered them, and they are there to serve the music. ML: Which I think is exactly what Alexander did. He didn’t invent anything. He discovered the way of using your body optimally. KH: That’s right. Yes. I discovered it through all these sources of my childhood. And what I did, is systematise it, which I got from experience of teaching. I systematized it. ML: Yes, I understand. What I found very intriguing in your method, and you mentioned it earlier when you were speaking of your lessons with Persinger, is that a lot of teaching is just saying ‘do this, do that’, but they don’t teach you how to actually make it part of your (playing)… 1 As this history is recounted in detail in The Violin and I (Havas, 1968), this section of the interview was not transcribed verbatim, but summarised above.
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KH: That’s right. They tell you what the problem is. And what is interesting, is that now, I find out that a lot of people are interconnected all over the world…The New Approach is spreading everywhere. My major thing is that it is given over (i.e. communicated), that people have pleasure, that people can give, instead of this other culture we inherited, that ‘I have to be a little bit better’… Havas talks about one of her pupils, a young and very talented girl who had nearly given up playing the violin due to the pressures of performing, before seeking help from Havas. …The composer can only live through you, and our privilege is to recreate the composer and not to be a big producer…Technique is always connected to the piece. If she plays the piece, I give her the relevant exercises to work it out, so it’s easy. Her operative word, it has to be easy…and she is rid of aches and pains. It has to be easy. And the laughter at our lessons, and the sweets [indistinct] ML: So it’s just fun. KH: Yes. Of course. ML: Sorry to return to this once again, I just want to ask you a couple more questions. So you yourself never had any Alexander lessons at any time? KH: No. ML: And did you read any of Alexander’s books? KH: No. But I did read Zen…And what does Zen say? ‘Prepare before you leap’. ML. Yes! So it’s ‘think’. And that is the other big thing I saw in your method. It’s thinking, not doing. And that’s the same as the Alexander Technique…And then also about directing the movements…what I found really interesting yesterday, is that you give a sequence of directions, words, that follow one another, verbal commands to direct the movement, and that is also exactly the same as the Alexander Technique. KH: What I am doing, I don’t know if you noticed, the words are all one syllable, and they have to be in the rhythm…‘1 - Fit, 2 – Spread, 3 –’, all this in the rhythm. And if you do that, you simply have no time to think. Thinking, I tell everybody, thinking is forbidden. Because thinking is chaotic. Thinking is chaotic. It is focusing (that is important). Focusing with the words from one to the other, to the other. Now the Alexander (Technique), that’s all right, but they don’t know how not to have a violin. So I focus on the use of the instrument as well. ML: So you focus on the use of yourself, and the use of your instrument. KH: Yes. You see, the singers have no instrument. ML: Their body is the instrument.
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KH: Their body is the instrument, but we have to do that through a very complicated violin and bow, very complex, very often challenging, incompatible movements. And that’s what I am trying to coordinate. So that is why I’m saying that everything we do is in the service of music making. Everything. Because that’s all tone production… ML: That’s also to me like the Alexander principle that says ‘use affects functioning’. You’re saying that all technique happens through tone production. In other words if you use something wrong, if you use your body or the instrument in a wrong way, it will affect the function, so it will affect the sound. KH: That’s right. It creates blockages. So the whole thing is to open up all the energy routes, and so that’s what all these exercises (are for). So I put them into a very practical application, instead of just talking about it. Because I could say ‘relax’ this or that and so on, and it might help a little, but this is what people find difficult, the focus. ML: What struck me quite powerfully is that Dr. Barlow, who had written about the Alexander Technique, writes that people make the mistake of thinking that if they are just pointed in the right direction, then all they need is just to do it. KH: Yes! ML: But it is not the same thing. With all the greatest will in the world, you are not necessarily able to do it even if you are pointed in the right direction, because your own use might be in the way. KH: Yes. And also don’t forget, we have very great handicaps. We have the optical illusion. Very great handicaps (in playing the violin), which the Alexander people don’t have. So this is why I say that everything we do, all these exercises, is to prevent (misuse). Because we all have those tendencies. If somebody didn’t have those tendencies, I would think a super-person arrived in my room, who will do magic! ML: You mean the tendencies to make yourself hard, to react with tension and anxiety in a threatening situation… KH: But also in this way (i.e. through the exercises), you eliminate the ever-disturbing ego. Because we are great ones to doubt ourselves, or to belittle ourselves. Our self-esteem in the best of situations is very low. We depend on other people all the time, other people’s approval. We all want to be loved, we all want to be approved, we all want to please, and all that. And you see, when you doubt what you sound like, or if you can do it, it is a defeatist thing. Because it will be. I tell them when they go out on the stage, if they want to give, people have to receive. If they are frightened, this is in the nature, people will criticise. I always tell my pupils at performance, if they feel good, and have a really good feeling, they know, and they should never ask other people what they sound like. You know exactly. ML: You feel in your body that it is good.
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KH: You know exactly. If somebody comes up afterwards to say ‘you know I thought it was perhaps a little slow’, or ‘you didn’t have a big enough tone’, then that is their problem. Because you felt fine… And the teachers (referring to well-known soloists) are very often full of problems. They want to teach well, but they teach what they were taught, which they themselves don’t do. They are natural players and don’t know how to teach…That happens often…Like Kreisler, who said he had one pupil, and when she went out, she played much worse than when she came in. ML: I suppose that if you’ve had to go the route of having to retrain yourself, re-teach yourself, then you have the insight into what is needed. KH: And that happens more than I can say. Because you see, we are all compound people. Our past is within us. You can’t eradicate the past…I thought if I could see into violinists, if they had glass stomachs, what chaos would I see? What chaos and fear and anxiety. So I often tell people imagine that your pasts (i.e. past experiences) are all lying down on each other inside you. Then one day this will get up, then that will get up, and your job is to reassure them, to soothe them with your present life, to give them a lesson how easy it can be, how lovely it can be. You give them a lesson, the way you give it to your pupil. That seems to help a lot. Because you see, they want to do what I ask, but too many disturbing things are inside them, interferences, and it prevents them. So they are in conflict…One thing, you can’t do this (the New Approach) a little bit, you can’t mix it up. You can’t do it a little bit. You can’t do it any more than you can walk the tightrope a little bit, or do any kind of acrobatic things a little bit. You have to do it absolutely. And then the results are immediate. And that is the difficulty, and the difficulty is because it is so easy. And the establishment is still puzzled by it… ML: You know what you said about not being able to do it a little bit, but completely: Alexander teaching also says that you have to stop doing the wrong thing in order to do the right thing. So you can’t change what is wrong, and sort of make it right, you have to stop it completely. KH: That’s exactly! ML: That’s what you’re saying as well. KH: …You have to stop ‘for a year’. Stopping is one of the most important things. ML: That’s the Alexander concept of inhibition. KH: You see, I have no idea. ML: …I think the Alexander Technique is one of the most incredibly useful techniques, but when I look at your method, I think that on a very deep conceptual level, the harmony between the two is incredible. So to me that says that your method works with the body and how we are put together.
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KH: Except that it works with the instrument as well. That is the big difference. Because I have Alexander people who come to me, who have a problem with the violin hold. No matter what they do, they have problems with the violin hold. ML: That is what is so powerful to me about your method, because it seems that you integrated the same principles that are in the Alexander Technique with knowledge of violin technique, and created an incredibly unique method of teaching. KH: That’s right. That’s why I call it a New Approach and not a method…What we do is to put every movement into music making, we use every movement for the service of the music. That’s the difference with Alexander Technique…we use every movement for creating the music, so that is the direction for it. The music is the true focal direction for the movement ... I can’t tell you how grateful I am for finding (the New Approach). Because again, I look at it as a gift, as a great gift. And a gift is only there to give it to you. That’s the nature of it. If I can give it to you, I’m alright. I am a transmitter…and I say thank you for it every day…because it is creative. ML: For me, meeting you and coming across your method during this last year or two has been like the answer to a life-time of questions. When you read it, you realise that ‘this is what I have been looking for’. KH: You see, this is what people all over the world find, and that is what I am so thankful for.
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APPENDIX E CORRESPONDENCE
E.1 Correspondence with Kató Havas
E.1.1 Letter to Havas, 2 Sept 2004 (Letter has been shortened) Dear Kató May I ask you a couple of questions, as an extension to the interview I had with you in Oxford? If you remember, I had asked you whether the Alexander Technique had had any direct influence on the formulation of the New Approach, and you said no, that you had not taken any Alexander lessons or read his books. …my problem is that I have to deal with a claim made by Marianne Murray Perkins, one of the sources that I use. (You may remember that she had a couple of lessons with you about 10 years ago?) She says in her book, A comparison of violin playing techniques, that Alexander had been an influential author on the New Approach. She writes on p 23: “Havas often refers to Alexander’s principles throughout her writings”. However, she does not substantiate this claim in any way. I contacted her to ask on what basis she wrote this, and ... it seems that she reached this conclusion from interviews with New Approach teachers – she mentioned Karen Davy. I contacted Karen, and she also said that, although you refer to principles that are similar to those in the Alexander Technique, you have never cited him as a direct influence. (I’ve included Karen’s letter at the bottom of this e-mail, together with my reply to her.) It seems that MM Perkins may have misunderstood the reference to Alexander’s principles to mean that he was a direct influence – that is certainly how it comes across in her book. 1. So the first question is, how do you respond to what MM Perkins had written about Alexander being an influential author on the New Approach? 2. The other question I have is similar: In the KHANA newsletter of July 1994 (Vol 10, no 1), Felix Sommer writes: “In her approach, she (i.e. Kato Havas) combines methods of Alexander to Zen, intuitively applying principles of encounter, balance, and conditioning” (it is on p 4). Again, does he mean that you consciously use the principles of the Alexander Technique in your approach, or is it merely that he recognises (like I do) that many of the ways in which you work are very similar to Alexander Technique? 3. You quote from Aldous Huxley in Stage fright (on p 77 and 85). It is taken from a foreword that he had written for Bonpensiere’s “New Pathways to Piano Technique”. Were you aware at all that Huxley was a very strong supporter of the Alexander Technique, and that the reference to the physiological intelligence (being almost incapable of making a mistake when it is not interfered with), is in fact the concept at the very heart of the Alexander Technique?
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I am sorry to trouble you with all of this, Kató. It is just that the parallels between the two methods run very deeply, and therefore it is very important to be as clear as possible about the actual degree of direct influence that Alexander may have had. This is even more important, since it seems that MM Perkins had already jumped to the wrong conclusion, and everyone who reads her book (like I initially did) will automatically think that it is true. I think it is important to have a debate about it, and since you are the real authority in this matter, I would really like to include your response. With all the very best wishes, Marina
E.1.2 Reply from Havas, 11 Sep 2004 Dear Marina, My answer to your questions is very simple. No! I didn’t know about the Alexander method until pupils, who like you, were amazed about the similarities and only after that did I start to mention his method. As a matter of fact the New Approach has been compared to Zen Buddhism, Tai-Chi, Yoga and psychotherapy, not to mention golf. And I am innocent of all those activities. So I would really appreciate it if you could clear this matter up. And by the way, the New Approach can be used for all other instruments including singing. I just arrived a week ago today and started to teach on Monday. I haven’t even unpacked yet. So I hope this will really reach you. With greetings and best wishes Kató Havas
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E.2 Correspondence with Dr MM Perkins E.2.1 Letter to Perkins, 2 June 2004
(Letter has been shortened.) Dear Dr Perkins Hunter Corn from ASTA gave me your e-mail address. I am a Master’s degree student from Cape Town, South Africa. For my thesis, I am researching parallels between the Alexander Technique and the ‘New Approach to Violin Playing’ by Kato Havas. Your book, A Comparison of Violin Playing Techniques, has been very helpful to me, both in my teaching and in my research - thank you! I was intrigued to read that you cite Alexander as being an influence on Havas, and that you say that she “often refers to Alexander’s principles throughout her writings” (p 23). This is of great interest to me, as the parallels between these two disciplines are (obviously!) also very clear to me. I wonder if you would be so kind as to exchange ideas with me on this matter: are there any specific sources that you based your conclusion on, or was it purely your own observation of the similarities between the two disciplines that persuaded you of this fact? I believe you had a series of lessons with Ms Havas; did she at any time mention Alexander as an influence? As I said, the parallels are very obvious, yet I have not found any direct quotes that Havas attributes to Alexander in any of her books, or specific references (other than in your book) to the effect that Alexander had had a direct influence on Havas’s formulation of the New Approach. It would be incredibly helpful to me if you could tell me how you reached your own conclusions, and perhaps refer me to any sources where I might find more clarity about this. I really look forward to hearing from you, and any help or insight that you could give me in this regard would be most appreciated! Regards, Marina Louw (Head of Strings: Beau Soleil Music Centre, Cape Town, South Africa)
E.2.2 Reply from Perkins, 2 Aug 2004 (Letter has been shortened)
Hi Marina. …I had been trying to contact one of the key New Approach teachers I consulted with for that portion of my research (Karen Davy) earlier in the summer but she has moved to California from New York and I am having trouble finding her new address and e-mail…
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At this point in time, I am hesitant to "go on record" in your thesis in regard to your questions. As I said previously, I really have not kept up with Kato Havas and the New Approach since my book was published (based on my dissertation) over ten years ago! I feel it is important that I first speak with Karen to refresh my memory and get her perspective. Thanks for your patience. Marianne Murray Perkins
E.2.3 Letter to Perkins, 2 Sept 2004 (Letter has been shortened.)
Dear Dr Perkins Thank you for your reply; I really appreciate your time and effort to communicate with me on this matter! I managed to find Karen Davy’s e-mail address through the New Approach newsletter and contacted her. I’m including her response (and e-mail address) at the bottom of this correspondence. As you will notice, Karen Davy states that, as far as she knows, Kato Havas has never cited the Alexander Technique as a direct influence on her work…I refer to Karen’s letter: “in a way it's true that Kato refers to Alexander's principles, but certainly not by name, rather by nature”. In other words, Kato Havas may have recognized and applied similar principles to those that Alexander had described in his Technique, without having derived them from him. I had a look at your book (A comparison of violin methods) once again, and I noticed that you mention both Alexander and Dr Hellebrandt under the heading “Influential Authors” (on p 23). However, I don’t understand how Hellebrandt could have been an influence on Havas, as the articles she wrote (to explain the bio-mechanical rationale of the New Approach) were written long after the method had already been formulated and established. The Hellebrandt articles appeared in The Strad in 1969 and 1970, and by that time Havas had already written three of her books (1961, 1964, 1968). Havas does refer to Hellebrandt’s articles in Stage Fright (1973) in order to clarify certain points, but surely one could not say that Hellebrandt had been an influence on Havas’s formulation of the method? I mention this, because it does throw some light on the problem regarding Alexander. It seems to me that the heading “Influential Authors” is misleading, as it creates the impression that Havas had derived some aspects of her method from them, which seems not to be the case. Please forgive me for insisting on this point, but I have to deal with this issue in my thesis - I can hardly leave out the only reference to Alexander’s influence on Havas that I have found. The depth to which the parallels between the two disciplines run is quite astounding, and one could easily conclude that Havas has a very profound, experiential knowledge of the Alexander Technique and its philosophy - which is why it is all the more important to be really clear about the degree of actual influence.
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I would really value your response and input in this matter, before I actually write anything about it in my thesis. I should perhaps just mention that, based on what you had written, I interviewed Kató Havas (in July 2003 when I had lessons with her in Oxford) about Alexander’s influence on the New Approach. She was quite taken aback that I had just assumed that he was an influence, and was adamant that it had not been the case. I do think that it is very important to clear up any misunderstanding in this regard… However, I also feel that it is right to give you an opportunity to respond first, as I realise that I might still not have the full picture. I would really appreciate your feedback and thoughts in this matter. Sincere regards, Marina Louw
E.2.4 Reply from Perkins, 26 Sept 2004 Dear Marina, Since you already have Kato Havas' answer on the subject I would consider that "definitive." As I mentioned previously, I have never characterized my work from that research period (over twelve years now) as being authoritative on the New Approach. The central theme of my dissertation and book is a COMPARISON of the three playing TECHNIQUES of Suzuki, Havas, and Rolland; it is not intended to be viewed in any way as the definitive background guide to the New Approach, especially historically, as Kato herself, her writings, and those of her closest disciples are obviously the ultimate authorities on that subject. I am sorry I could not shed any further insight into the matter. I wish you the best of luck with your thesis and in the future. Sincerely, Dr. Marianne Murray Perkins
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E.3 Correspondence with Karen Davy (New Approach teacher)
E.3.1 Letter to Davy, 2 Aug 2004 Dear Ms Davy My name is Marina Louw, and I am a violist from Cape Town, South Africa. After a series of lessons in July 2003 with Kato Havas and Gloria Bakhshayesh, I was asked to be the KHANA representative in South Africa. I am writing in the hope that you may be able to enlighten me on a particular point regarding the New Approach. At present I am researching the New Approach for a master’s degree thesis, and am specifically interested in parallels between the New Approach and the Alexander Technique. I read in Marianne Murray Perkins’s book, ‘A comparison of violin playing techniques’, that she cites Alexander as having been an influential author, and she states on p 23: “Havas often refers to Alexander’s principles throughout her writings”. However, she does not substantiate this claim in any way, nor does she give any reference to specific examples. I contacted her to find out on what basis she asserts this, and she was unable to give me a direct answer. However, it seems that she reached this conclusion from interviews with a couple of New Approach teachers about 10 years ago, and she specifically mentioned your name. Do you recall any such interview with her? It would be incredibly helpful to me if you could perhaps tell me on what basis she might have reached this conclusion. I have not read anywhere else that Alexander was a direct influence on the formulation of the New Approach, and Ms Havas likewise does not mention him anywhere. While the parallels are very obvious to me – and others, judging by previous articles in the KHANA newsletters – had Alexander in fact been a direct influence? Is it at all possible that the New Approach could be in harmony with Alexandrian principles without having been derived from those principles? I would really appreciate any help you could give me in this regard. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you in advance for considering my many questions! Kind regards, Marina Louw (Head of Strings: Beau Soleil Music Centre, Cape Town, South Africa)
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E.3.2 Reply from Davy, 9 Aug 2004 (Letter has been shortened)
Hi Marina, I have given your questions some thought. As far as I know, Kato has never cited the Alexander Technique as an influence on her work…but both the Alexander Technique and the New Approach were very big and in vogue in the 1960's and '70's in London. So I believe the similarities were not merely coincidence but rather synchronicity. As far as Marianne Perkins quote, I'm just not sure where she got that from. In a way it's true that Kato refers to Alexander's principles, but certainly not by name, rather by nature: the stance, the natural weight of the head on the instrument, the idea of the ease of playing etc.- yes, she refers to these throughout her writings. I also believe that both Kato and Mr. Alexander were in sync with broader philosophical ideas which teach ease of being, inside-outness, let it happen rather than make it happen, etc… So yes, I do think that it is possible that the New Approach could be in harmony with Alexandrian principles without having been derived from those principles. Let me know if I can help more. Good luck with your work. It sounds great! Karen
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APPENDIX F THE KHANA NEWSLETTERS The excerpts from the KHANA newsletters are used with the kind permission of Kató Havas.
F.1 Dr Brian Whitfield: “Physiology, physics and the New Approach”.
Whitfield, 1993: 5:
(The New Approach) not only makes scientific physiological sense, it also produces remarkable results. It is in harmony with the laws and principles both of physics and physiology and therein lies its success…
The brain works much like a computer, except the way the brain is set up it is really like two computers, one ‘computer’ being the left hemisphere of the brain and the other ‘computer’ being the right hemisphere of the brain. The two hemispheres are linked together by a band of ‘wires’ called the corpus collusum. It is through these ‘wires’ that the two halves of the brain communicate and co-ordinate body functions. The neurophysiological law of hemispheric dominance, in which the left hand/right brain: right hand/left brain ‘hemispheric connection’ is explained, is given major importance in the New Approach when applied to the proper training of the left and right hand functions. Many of the exercises in the New Approach ask one to focus one’s attention on the ‘musical’ left hand while learning a new passage of music. Once the left hand has learned the correct ‘pattern’ for the musical passage, the ‘programmed’ left hand action will automatically co-ordinate the required responses in the right arm because of the law of hemispheric dominance which states … the more active hemisphere will dominate or ‘lead’ the less active hemisphere in its required response. Using the New Approach it is no longer necessary to spend endless hours on string crossing exercises, if one teaches the LEFT hand ‘where to go on the strings’ the right hand will automatically follow because of the neurological law of hemispheric dominance. To my scientific mind, Kató’s words were earth shattering. Here was someone explaining how to play a musical instrument physiologically and besides that, her physiology is absolutely correct!
The importance of the sensorial connection between the two halves (the right and left side) of the physical body via the bent thumb of the right hand on the bow hair and the skating fingers of the left hand, ALWAYS assisted by the ‘dancing’ left thumb, cannot be underplayed because these connections are what neurologically co-ordinate the two halves of the physical body, thereby creating an integrated whole for the expression of musical energy…Once one begins to understand the principles that the New Approach is based upon and is able to apply this knowledge, it seems almost as if automatically, the voice of musical expression is allowed to be heard. F.2 Individual observations
Frondenberg, 1987: 3:
With Kato’s help in making me believe that violin playing was either easy or impossible…(and) with the help of her physical and mental exercises, I have found for myself the center of my gravity, and with that have discovered the true bliss of
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‘no-violin’…My entire body understood that violin playing honestly is easy or impossible…Physical blocks disconnect the mind from the body. Now the learning of the violin has taken on a whole new dimension. Learning to play is expanded to learning to cultivate my awareness….It seems to me that awareness is a fluid and constant anticipation of the inner ear of what is to come and not what has been. This is not possible until one is completely free from any holds…Now I know that awareness blossoms with physical freedom…With physical freedom comes the ability to focus into the core of music-making. Focus is the bringing together of the mind and the body in a totally coordinated way.
Kreith, 2002: 4, 5:
When my thought process is involved with the rhythmic preparation of intervals I enjoy a unity of ‘technical’ and ‘musical’ thought that is not analytical or self-critical but constantly creative.
Forsman, 2004: 3:
I could really experience the truth of the New Approach and discovered that once the inside-built fundamental balances are found and linked into a big chain there is no need for hours and hours of mechanical practise.
Novom, 2002: 3, 4:
Everything must always be done in a way that reassures the hand and body as to how easy it is. This means that one stops…until the whole hand knows what it is going to do and can prepare the next interval…to stop and not just freeze - and before moving on have an image in my hand of what it is going to do. This image is an actual sensation….There is a huge difference between ourselves – understanding and thinking about the ‘concepts’ – and our bodies, which need to gain the knowledge, through constantly being shown what is possible….I found that being able to stop before the chaos set in often meant breaking the music down to one bar…these sections gave me an incredibly enjoyable sense of control.
Johnson, 2001: 7:
I spent the next four summers in England getting as much time as I could with Kató. The learning that took place from both a playing and teaching point of view was startling…people were playing in ways they never thought possible – people from the most basic to university students to advanced professional players.
Bonnici, 1988: 7:
…the exhilaration of ease I began to experience was overwhelming….It is difficult to describe the feeling of joy when the violin begins to sing almost of its own accord.
Milo, 2001: 3:
Years ago, when I first came to Kató, a miracle happened in my life…a long ‘bloody’ war between my love and hate for the violin came to its end…after a very short time, I
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began to feel a beautiful sound is beginning to be born. The aches were also gone. Things my teachers were trying for years to correct were absolutely gone with the wind as if they never existed.
Traver and Peterson, 2001: 6, 7:
With basic New Approach exercises, participants discovered that there is an answer and a solution to their playing difficulties…One’s playing begins to be a search for the ‘ease’ instead of trying to overcome difficulties….Participants were in awe of the ease in which thirds, sixths, octaves and tenths can be initiated with the concepts of balance in the left hand.
Evans, 1994: 4:
As I continued all the exercises for the left hand…my hand became more and more flexible.
Olsen, 1985: 5:
Kato demands a lot of work and total application, but there was always laughter at the lessons…Within the span of a year, the pain completely disappeared. In addition, and more importantly, this newly found freedom has given me a better awareness of music, and has allowed me to be a more confident player.
Porcino, 1985: 5:
If the child internalises the music, by first clapping, singing, and pulsing with vigor and energy, then even the simplest open string tunes will give him/her the exhilaration that comes from music making.
Heikkila, 1994: 6:
It was clear, of course, that the New Approach cannot be mastered all at once, especially when you have to overcome many old ingrained habits. But even the slightest achievement and steps of progress were epoch-making for me. The more I achieved a sense of freedom and ease the more enthusiastic I became to continue with my studies.
Gaines, 2004: 7:
The New Approach…uses the body in the way it was created to be used. There is no distortion of the body in order to play the violin…Instead the natural physical balances of the body are established and the violin and bow are incorporated into the natural use of the body. This eliminates pain, nerve entrapment, diminished blood flow and injury. It also creates a sense of ease and well being in the student.
Schoettly, 1994: 6, 7:
Fourteen doctors concluded, together and separately, that the nerves had been compressed too long (two years) and as feeling had not returned to my hands, I would
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never play the violin again (nor write with a pen, nor do any task requiring fine motor co-ordination)….By 1986, because of exercise and therapy I was able to play my violin for 10 minutes, twice a week. In 1987, I was up to 10 minutes a day and began lessons….I wish I had known about the New Approach earlier. After years of searching, exercise and effort, I now employ this simple method to improve my playing. The benefits are extensive….The technique of opening the shoulder hinges may not seem to apply to ordinary job skills, yet it does. The opening and relaxation it brings frees the mind for all kinds of possibilities….As for the doctors, some of them were astonished that they were wrong….What these doctors missed…was this: Without the New Approach, it would never have happened…the skills learned at the workshop allowed me to improve enough to play a recital…my ‘no-violin – no bow’ enables me to overcome residual numbness and to correct tensions that bring it about. F.3 References
Evans, Amy.1994. “An amazing year”, in: KHANA Newsletter, vol. 9:2: 4.
Forsman, Zsuzsanna. 2004. “Time out of the orchestra”, in: KHANA Newsletter, vol. 19:2: 3.
Frondenberg, Michelle. 1987. “It is easy or it is impossible”, in: KHANA Newsletter, vol. 3:1: 3.
Gaines, Linda. 2004. “About the New Approach to violin playing”, in: KHANA Newsletter, vol. 20:1: 7.
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